Melbourne Apple Store proposal loses controversial 'pagoda' design

Posted:
in General Discussion
Apple has changed its plans for its first Global Flagship store in Melbourne, Australia, revising the design of its Federation Square retail outlet from the pagoda-inspired structure to a much simpler design, following criticism from the public.




Revealed by the Federation Square website, the new design does away with the sloped roof sections, and instead adopts a squarer appearance that is said to complement the square's existing buildings. As well as providing balconies on the upper floor, the store also uses a new roof design that can be used with solar panels, and a new solar shading design claimed to enhance the energy efficiency of the building.

The architectural changes were introduced following a series of design workshops involving Federation Square Management, the Victorian Government, Melbourne City Council, and Apple itself.

The refined store is part of a broader reimagining of the location, which includes a digital facade on the Transport Building and a new Melbourne Metro Train Station entrance. The new store is expected to create more than 500 square meters (5,381 square feet) of new public space, and along with enabling more cultural events to be held, it is expected to attract two million more visitors to the square annually.



Federation Square CEO Jonathan Tribe said the store is "consistent with Federation Square's Civic and Cultural Charter, which recognizes Melbourne's pre-eminence as a center for creativity and innovation."

Apple's original vision for the store was revealed in December 2017, with the intention of commencing construction in 2019 and completion in 2020. More than 200 Apple retail employees would work at the store, with some dedicated Creative Pros tasked with leading "Today at Apple" sessions at the outlet.

Initial Melbourne Apple Store proposal
Initial Melbourne Apple Store proposal


Critics disliked the first proposal, calling it a "Pizza Hut pagoda" and lobbying for a redesign. By February, the city council had received more than 800 submissions rejecting the design, while council members were unanimous in a motion to lobby the government for a redesign.

It is unclear if the second attempt will be accepted or receive more complaints from the public. It is also unknown if the existing construction schedule will continue as planned or will face delays.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    racerhomie3racerhomie3 Posts: 1,264member
    Still no store in Pakistan, India or Bangladesh.
    urashidclaire1
  • Reply 2 of 17
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    That mall is an architectural eyesore. It will not age well.  In 20 years people will laugh at it. 
    entropysstompy
  • Reply 3 of 17
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    Still no store in Pakistan, India or Bangladesh.
    Coming soon to India I’m betting, what with new manufacturing agreements. 
  • Reply 4 of 17
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,663member
    Uh.... Apple actually considered building that thing?
  • Reply 5 of 17
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    Ugh, from eccentric but interesting to boring cube; nice “upgrade” you got yourself there, Aussies...
    cornchipstompypatchythepirateGabyclaire1
  • Reply 6 of 17
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    rcfa said:
    Ugh, from eccentric but interesting to boring cube; nice “upgrade” you got yourself there, Aussies...

    I'll try not to be offended by being bundled in with the sort of people who make decisions about public spaces in a city around 600km away.

    Most Australians probably don't actually care what shape the Apple Store in Federation Square is. Most Melbournians probably don't care either. The problem is the people who do care, many of whom are probably somehow embroiled in the Architecture industry. I worked in a building that constantly leaked since it was opened in the 70s, looks ugly, and has a number of structural deficiencies. It's now protected by a heritage order because the Institute of Architects were worried that it might get demolished when we moved out in the early 2000s. These are the people that enforce aesthetic standards in places like that, and they go between enforcing boring standards, and trying "new" and "exciting" designs that show no consideration for practical use.

    For the record, our Apple Store here is a mall store, so no major architectural considerations.

    stompylostkiwiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 17
    I wish Apple would put the store somewhere else, like in the Emporium. It does not belong in a civic square.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 17
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    That mall is an architectural eyesore. It will not age well.  In 20 years people will laugh at it. 
    You are talking about Australians. They laughed at federation square when it was on the drawing boards; they laughed at it when it was announced; they laughed in its construction; they laughed at it when it was opened. They laugh at it whenever it discussed. But the great and good ignored them because they believe they control the narrative, and hold the unwashed who have to live with their fancies in contempt, just like Anome’s experience above.

    It takes a lot to get Aussies really riled up though, it’s easier to shrug shoulders and laugh at the wankers.

    Federation square is classic Melbourne. Pretentious, look at me, ugly crap reflecting the permanent chip on the city’s establishment shoulder, constantly afraid actually important decisions are made elsewhere, like Sydney or Canberra.

    Personally, I suspect Apple played the great and good quite well, actually managed to get approval to introduce retail in a sacred area (to the great and good) with something so in your face, and has now a design more consistent with stand alone Apple stores elsewhere and probably what it really wanted in the first place. 
    edited July 2018 cornchipstompywatto_cobrasteveau
  • Reply 9 of 17
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    entropys said:
    But the great and good ignored them because they believe they control the narrative, and hold the unwashed in contempt…
    Well… they do. And they do. And you guys don’t have guns anymore, so you can’t even do anything about it.
    ugly crap
    Yeah, I’m not a fan of this.


    And now that I’ve seen a gallery of the… thing… I can’t say that I’m a fan of any aspect of the design. What the hell happened to art deco? If the high and mighty of the city wanted to prove that they actually stood for something, how about a design that, by its form, is upward-looking. Even art nouveau would be nice. Even soviet brutalism is better than that… monstrosity. It’s like an industrial garbage pile got welded together. The Apple Store will be the best-looking aspect of any of it.
    SpamSandwich
  • Reply 10 of 17
    I really love Fed Square. I can appreciate the scepticism about it’s design when you look at a photo on the web. To be honest, you need to stand in the middle of it in person to fully appreciate the space. And it’s part of the Arts Precinct in Melbourne so don’t be that surprised that the design is way out there. 
    As for Apple’s design, the new cube will definitely compliment the surroundings better than the original. As a purely commercial entity they are incredibly lucky to get the space at all - it is supposed to primarily be a public & entertainment space. 
    Hopefully the new store design is enough to mute the politics a bit and get the thing built. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 17
    entropys said:

    It takes a lot to get Aussies really riled up though,

    Cricket!!

    entropys said:
    it’s easier to shrug shoulders and laugh at the wankers.

    I thought "wanker" was quintessentially British. I didn't know Aussies used it as well


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 17
    wozwozwozwoz Posts: 263member
    The first design was far superior:  the new design is boring, ugly and bland.
    retrogusto
  • Reply 13 of 17
    KhufuKhufu Posts: 1member
    entropys said:
    That mall is an architectural eyesore. It will not age well.  In 20 years people will laugh at it.

    Federation square is classic Melbourne. Pretentious, look at me, ugly crap reflecting the permanent chip on the city’s establishment shoulder, constantly afraid actually important decisions are made elsewhere, like Sydney or Canberra.

    Personally, I suspect Apple played the great and good quite well, actually managed to get approval to introduce retail in a sacred area (to the great and good) with something so in your face, and has now a design more consistent with stand alone Apple stores elsewhere and probably what it really wanted in the first place. 
    Robin: Federation Square.....a mall? LOL written by someone who has no idea. It’s had 90 million visitors since opening and yeah that was 16 years ago.

    Entropys: What important decisions exactly are you alluding to: Sydney’s lock out laws or Canberra’s Asylum seeker policy? Those kind of important decisions?

    Hey this is supposed to be the Southern Hemisphere’s first Global Flagship ship store (not in Sydney or Canberra). I think Apple has approached this proposal completely the wrong way and the fact that it’s had to change the design is evidence enough that the proposal is on life support. The space has over 2,000 cultural events per year which by the way shouldn’t involve returning an iPhone 6 with a 22% failure rate. Capisce?



  • Reply 14 of 17
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    entropys said:

    It takes a lot to get Aussies really riled up though,

    Cricket!!

    entropys said:
    it’s easier to shrug shoulders and laugh at the wankers.

    I thought "wanker" was quintessentially British. I didn't know Aussies used it as well


    Aussies are very multicultural you know.  Sometimes we might call them "tossers" instead.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 17
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    Entropys: What important decisions exactly are you alluding to: Sydney’s lock out laws or Canberra’s Asylum seeker policy? Those kind of important decisions?

    Hey this is supposed to be the Southern Hemisphere’s first Global Flagship ship store (not in Sydney or Canberra). I think Apple has approached this proposal completely the wrong way and the fact that it’s had to change the design is evidence enough that the proposal is on life support. The space has over 2,000 cultural events per year which by the way shouldn’t involve returning an iPhone 6 with a 22% failure rate. Capisce?
    There is the rather obvious thought that Apple figured that in order to get the great and good to agree to it putting a capitalist pig shop right in the middle of the luvvies ode to itself, a 'controversial' design might be needed.  It worked of course, and then all Apple needed to do was wait for the unwashed to wake up and complain about the design, and lo, Apple gets to build a design remarkably consistent with other stand alone Apple stores.  

    Apple clearly finds Melbourne people as easy to play as people that aren't Victorian find them ;)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 17
    claire1claire1 Posts: 510unconfirmed, member
    That design was beautiful! Reminds me more of ancient Chinese architecture.

    "Pizza Hut design"
    Yet if it was Pizza Hut opening a store with that design no one would care.
    Apple has the toughest critics.
    edited July 2018
  • Reply 17 of 17
    nunzynunzy Posts: 662member
    claire1 said:
    That design was beautiful! Reminds me more of ancient Chinese architecture.

    "Pizza Hut design"
    Yet if it was Pizza Hut opening a store with that design no one would care.
    Apple has the toughest critics.

    claire1 said:
    That design was beautiful! Reminds me more of ancient Chinese architecture.

    "Pizza Hut design"
    Yet if it was Pizza Hut opening a store with that design no one would care.
    Apple has the toughest critics.
    Some people just hate Apple.
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