foster + partners completes miami's latest apple store

foster + partners has completed its latest store for apple, a retail outlet in miami inspired by the city’s art deco architecture. designed in close collaboration with apple’s design team, led by jonathan ive, ‘apple aventura’ brings people together beneath an undulating vaulted roof that references miami’s nautical and architectural heritage. located in the new wing of the aventura mall, the store neighbors a public slide tower by artist carsten höller.

all images © nigel young / foster + partners

‘we love the honesty and purity of the concrete,’ explains stefan behling, head of studio, foster + partners. ‘the language and materiality at apple aventura mall are inspired by miami’s white art deco traditions and climate, making it an expression of its place and culture. this is the first apple store to feature white precast concrete as the predominant structural system and it is also a continuation of the materiality we explored at apple park.’

‘this store is very ‘miami’ to me — its special trees, the light and the new roof,’ adds jonathan ive, who recently announced that he will leave apple this year. ‘it is also quintessentially apple, marrying the outdoor lifestyle with a sense of freedom and creativity that is intrinsic to the way we work.’ acting as an outdoor ‘genius grove’ and a place for visitors to relax, a densely planted garden welcomes guests with teak tables and chairs.

a glazed façade allows the interior to feel like an extension of the outdoor space, with the trees and tables continuing within the double-height hall. made solely from precast elements, the vaulted roof’s 80-foot-long (24.3 meter) concrete beams span 60-feet (18.2 meters) between slender steel columns, that are clad with a concrete casing. between the beams, 20-foot-wide (6 meter) concrete arches span to form a barrel-vaulted ceiling, which is covered by a white fabric on the underside for acoustic attenuation.