While residents of London criticize the plans Sir Norman Foster for the construction of The Tulip observation tower, Parisians choose Christmas gifts in the new Apple flagship store on the Champs-Élysées, the design for which was also developed by Foster + Partners.
Photo: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners
Photo: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners
Photo: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners
The historic building in the Beaux-Art style was built at the end of the XNUMXth century at the corner of Champs-Élysées and Rue Washington as an apartment building for wealthy bourgeois. In particular, the aeronautical pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, who designed and built the first manned balloon, lived here. The house underwent a careful reconstruction, which mainly consisted in restoring the lost details - stucco on the ceilings, carved elements of the stair railings, marble flooring in the lobby and oak parquet on the upper floors.
Photo: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners
Photo: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners
After passing through the central entrance, visitors first enter the gallery with arched vaults, and then enter the inner courtyard. It is covered with a roof of a complex structure, which consists of a series of prisms that refract light and create a stunning game of reflections on the walls of the building. The roof of the atrium looks especially impressive at dusk, when the lanterns are reflected in the edges.
Photo: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners
In addition to the decorative function, the kaleidoscope roof also works as a small power station - it is covered with photovoltaic panels. In this way, Apple emphasizes its commitment to eco-design and the desire to support "zero" architecture.
Photo: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners
Photo: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners
The trading rooms are located on the two lower floors, and on the upper levels there are offices with balconies that offer a view of the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower.
The opening of the new flagship store coincides with the anniversary - ten years of cooperation between Apple and the architectural company Foster + Partners. About 200 employees will work in the new building, including consultants and salespeople from the closed Apple store in the Carrousel du Louvre.
