Fifth Avenue Apple Store's iconic glass cube is unwrapped

Posted:
in General Discussion edited September 2019
The famous glass cube at Apple's Fifth Avenue retail space in New York has been uncovered, with the now-visible landmark a sign that a two-year remodeling effort for the Apple Store is close to completion, and is likely to reopen in the near future.

Apple's Fifth Avenue store glass cube (via Instagram/chaseitorbchased)
Apple's Fifth Avenue store glass cube (via Instagram/chaseitorbchased)


Uncovered on Thursday night, the glass cube of the Fifth Avenue store is now able to be seen in full. A photograph published to Instagram by user "chaseitorbchased" shows the cube completely uncovered, complete with the Apple logo visible from all sides, though still surrounded by protective barriers.

Apple shuttered the Manhattan store in 2017 to renovate the location, as well as to increase the size of the store. Work on the store itself started on January 20, 2018, with Apple granted a permit to take down the iconic glass cube structure in April of the same year, in a procedure believed to have cost as much as $2 million.

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Brand new #applestore5thavenue is back up! #applestore #5thavenue #newyorkcity #sk8 #theskatingchick #sector9longboards #wip #stillwip

A post shared by ChaseItOrBChased (@chaseitorbchased) on Sep 6, 2019 at 6:30am PDT

Rather than leaving the glass clear, the cube has been coated in a multi-colored wrap, Quartz reports, with the semi-reflective material providing enough light to see the hanging Apple logo, but still preventing onlookers from seeing into the underground retail space. It is likely the film will be removed for the grand opening.

On the wrap is a sticker, advising passersby about the work. It reads:
Apple Fifth Avenue
Always Open to Open Minds

Beneath the surface of Fifth Avenue, you'll soon discover a reimagined space where creativity is always welcome. A 24-hour store with doors open to the bright lights and big ideas of this city, ready to inspire what you can do, discover, and make next.
Plans for the outlet include a doubling of the underground retail space from 32,000 square feet to 77,000 square feet. Part of the expanded space is thought to be occupied by a new Beats 1 broadcasting zone, allowing the Apple-owned online radio station to broadcast shows from the outlet.

It is still unknown when exactly the outlet will open up to the public, but the revealing of the cube is likely a sign it may not be far off. In January, CEO of management firm Boston Properties John Powers suggested the opening could take place sometime in early 2019, though evidently that time has passed.

Apple has been running its retail operations in a temporary location while the store received renovations, one that has dealt with issues relating to bed bugs earlier this year. The next tenant of that property is expected to be Under Armor.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 29
    No commentary on the iridescent colors?  I'd like to see other angles so I can understand what I'm seeing, but my initial reaction is positive.

    Also, I'm sure Under Armor appreciates having their brand associated with bed bugs.
    edited September 2019 davgregrcfaAppleExposed
  • Reply 2 of 29
    No commentary on the iridescent colors?  I'd like to see other angles so I can understand what I'm seeing, but my initial reaction is positive.

    Also, I'm sure Under Armor appreciates having their brand associated with bed bugs.
    Looks like dichroic glass? If so, that might be the largest dichroic glass structure in existence....much bigger than https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/rem-koolhaasdesigned-escalator-unveiled-for-saks-fifth-avenue-redesign
    randominternetpersonminicoffeercfawatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 29
    No commentary on the iridescent colors?  I'd like to see other angles so I can understand what I'm seeing.
    Same here, but if this is the new direction with the glass I think it would have been cooler if it was a theme across all stores in "the new town square design language" instead of a special 5th Ave thing.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 29
    drewsaur said:
    No commentary on the iridescent colors?  I'd like to see other angles so I can understand what I'm seeing, but my initial reaction is positive.

    Also, I'm sure Under Armor appreciates having their brand associated with bed bugs.
    Looks like dichroic glass? If so, that might be the largest dichroic glass structure in existence....much bigger than https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/rem-koolhaasdesigned-escalator-unveiled-for-saks-fifth-avenue-redesign
    "And escalators are great devices for people-watching, and sometimes even flirtation."

    Well sure, who doesn't associate escalators with flirting.
    razorpitirelandwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 29
    holyone said:
    No commentary on the iridescent colors?  I'd like to see other angles so I can understand what I'm seeing.
    Same here, but if this is the new direction with the glass I think it would have been cooler if it was a theme across all stores in "the new town square design language" instead of a special 5th Ave thing.
    Yeah.  Perhaps it's a new thing starting with NY.  I'm sure we'll hear about it at WWDC.  Rainbow glassy colors on the invitation...
    rcfawatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 29
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    One really has to wonder why it's taken two years to expand into adjoining existing basement space.   You knock some walls down, you pour Apple's ugly concrete floors, you put up wall panels, you bring in the parsons tables and you're done.   An entire office building can be built in little more than two years.  You'd think this was being built by Government. 

    And bedbugs in the former F.A.O. Schwartz store that Apple is temporarily using on the same plaza?   I don't recall that store being carpeted and except perhaps for some cushy foam seats for kids, I don't think there's anything in that store that's "soft", so I can't imagine why it would have bedbugs.   In any case, the next tenant is likely to strip the store down to the frame and start over, so that should get rid of any bedbugs anyway.   If there truly were bedbugs there, I would imagine that they're brought in by tourists who are staying in hotels that are infested.  

    holyone said:
    No commentary on the iridescent colors?  I'd like to see other angles so I can understand what I'm seeing.
    Same here, but if this is the new direction with the glass I think it would have been cooler if it was a theme across all stores in "the new town square design language" instead of a special 5th Ave thing.
    Each of the NYC stores are quite different from each other already.   I don't think that's a big deal.   
  • Reply 7 of 29
    No commentary on the iridescent colors?  I'd like to see other angles so I can understand what I'm seeing, but my initial reaction is positive.
    It's like an homage to the original rainbow Apple logo. I don't mind.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 29
    Looking like a giant soap bubble cube.
  • Reply 9 of 29
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    No mention of the coloured glass. Is this real life?
  • Reply 10 of 29
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    ireland said:
    No mention of the coloured glass. Is this real life?
    Its not colored glass, its clear glass like before.

    Those colors are only temporary to celebrate the re opening.

    I suppose its some sort of film placed on top of the glass.

    The colors will eventually be gone and the cube will return to its clear former self.

    Theres also something funky with this forum, as I am having trouble getting a cursor when writing a new post. i tried it on both my iPad and iPhone, and the problem exists on both devices, and I am up to date with the latest OS on both.

    An Apple forum should be compatible with iOS, imo.
    edited September 2019 pscooter63watto_cobraAppleExposed
  • Reply 11 of 29
    Apple should make a sculpture of what happens to our money when we walk into one of their stores
    razorpit
  • Reply 12 of 29
    apple ][ said:
    ireland said:
    No mention of the coloured glass. Is this real life?
    Its not colored glass, its clear glass like before.

    Those colors are only temporary to celebrate the re opening.

    I suppose its some sort of film placed on top of the glass.

    The colors will eventually be gone and the cube will return to its clear former self.

    Theres also something funky with this forum, as I am having trouble getting a cursor when writing a new post. i tried it on both my iPad and iPhone, and the problem exists on both devices, and I am up to date with the latest OS on both.

    An Apple forum should be compatible with iOS, imo.
    What makes you think that?  Based on Drewsaur's comment about "dichroic glass" I looked it up.  Although you can add a temporary film you can also "build" this into the glass chemically.  In fact, the facade for the Amazon headquarters in Seattle is done in dichroic glass (according to Wikipedia).  I personally have no reason to believe the colors are temporary.
    JWSCSpamSandwich
  • Reply 13 of 29
    No commentary on the iridescent colors?  I'd like to see other angles so I can understand what I'm seeing, but my initial reaction is positive.
    FTA:

    Rather than leaving the glass clear, the cube has been coated in a multi-colored wrap, Quartz reports, with the semi-reflective material providing enough light to see the hanging Apple logo, but still preventing onlookers from seeing into the underground retail space. It is likely the film will be removed for the grand opening.

    fastasleepcornchip
  • Reply 14 of 29
    FTA:

    "Rather than leaving the glass clear, the cube has been coated in a multi-colored wrap, Quartz reports, with the semi-reflective material providing enough light to see the hanging Apple logo, but still preventing onlookers from seeing into the underground retail space. It is likely the film will be removed for the grand opening."
    Rayz2016
  • Reply 15 of 29
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    zoetmb said:
    One really has to wonder why it's taken two years to expand into adjoining existing basement space.   You knock some walls down, you pour Apple's ugly concrete floors, you put up wall panels, you bring in the parsons tables and you're done.   An entire office building can be built in little more than two years.  You'd think this was being built by Government.  [...]
    Well, if it were a Government job the slow pace would be understandable.  But I’m thinking it’s something parochial to NYC, which is the use of local contractors and local unions that are heavily ‘influenced’ by the Mob.  Pure speculation on my part.  I’m sure Apple knows nothing about it.  And they don’t want to know.
  • Reply 16 of 29
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    zoetmb said:
    One really has to wonder why it's taken two years to expand into adjoining existing basement space.   You knock some walls down, you pour Apple's ugly concrete floors, you put up wall panels, you bring in the parsons tables and you're done.   An entire office building can be built in little more than two years.  You'd think this was being built by Government. 
    I have to agree about the concrete floors. Not that they’re ugly, just impractical the way they’re done. I was at the flagship Chicago store a week after it opened and the concrete was already stained. I guess some post-Steve Jobs value engineer thought the imported Tuscan “pietra serena” stone flooring wasn’t worth the expense. Sad. 
  • Reply 17 of 29
    JWSC said: Well, if it were a Government job the slow pace would be understandable.  But I’m thinking it’s something parochial to NYC, which is the use of local contractors and local unions that are heavily ‘influenced’ by the Mob.  Pure speculation on my part.  I’m sure Apple knows nothing about it.  And they don’t want to know.
    I don't think you can brag too much about the private sector. After all, the mob went into white collar business because you can commit all the same crimes with less risk of being prosecuted. 
  • Reply 18 of 29
    JWSC said: Well, if it were a Government job the slow pace would be understandable.  But I’m thinking it’s something parochial to NYC, which is the use of local contractors and local unions that are heavily ‘influenced’ by the Mob.  Pure speculation on my part.  I’m sure Apple knows nothing about it.  And they don’t want to know.
    I don't think you can brag too much about the private sector. After all, the mob went into white collar business because you can commit all the same crimes with less risk of being prosecuted. 
    That was in France, a country that has many business-unfriendly laws.
  • Reply 19 of 29
    Surprised it's still a cube. Thought they would have done a cylinder.
  • Reply 20 of 29
    the user "Apple II" made a comment that it's only temporary color for the glass and it will be clear again.  Wonder how they know that, was it announced?    Saw this store a few years back, it was totally worth visiting then.  Now that it's even bigger, WOW.   The location is diagonal to a corner of Central Park.  Nearby is Madison Ave.  I think Madison Ave is a cool street to walk up and down with it's shops and stuff.   Totally worth visiting if you go up to NY to check out Central Park.
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