The San Francisco city planning commission voted today in favor of accepting the new Apple Store in Union Square, which an Apple spokesman said would be “a flagship” store that would become “more iconic than the glass cube in New York City.”
The changes announced today include moving the historic fountain outside the new location to center it in the resized plaza. According to Apple’s architect, the fountain will be moved in one piece rather than disassembled and rebuilt a few feet away from its current position. Apple’s previous plan to relocate the fountain was not satisfactory to the city’s historic preservation committee, but the new plan was accepted this week.
New details about the plaza behind the store were announced as well, including a plan to provide free Wi-Fi for use by the public. After hearing arguments for and against the project from union members, private citizens, and nearby businesses for nearly two hours, the commission voted to approve the project by a margin of 5-1.
One condition was added to the approval, however: the plans must be reevaluated to improve accessibility to the second floor of the store and the plaza. Now the city’s Board of Supervisors is the last hurdle standing before Apple. Once the Board has given approval to build, Apple will be able to start the demolition of the existing building to make way for the newer structure.
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I think these guys misunderstand the meaning of the word “iconic.”
Haha that line made me laugh too. Hope SF likes smoke blown up its butt. Some of the China stores may become more iconic, but the SF store doesn’t hold a candle to the NY glass cube.
Yep. The cube is still it, followed by the cylinder one in China.
The NYC 5th Avenue cube is basically a doorway to a hole in the ground, as is the cylinder in China. This San Francisco store may very well be seen as iconic once completed. It is a giant, but thin metal box with no internal columns, like a shoe box on its side. The second floor appears to be completely cantilevered from the back wall. When the massive doors facing Union Square are opened, it will be quite impressive.