I saw it on my Apple PR RSS feed. Inspired by Buddhist temples, or at least thatās what I see. The bronze is nice!
Edit: full images available
Woooo Melbourne CBD Store**!
**coming soon
- āsoonā = 2020
Quite the eye sore.
Looks great. What is it that makes it a global flagship? Is it the architecture alone?
Wow that looks incredible, amazing architecture!
So long Arintji. Have eaten there a few times and the food was incredible, the service was amazing. Hopefully they move somewhere close by.
Iām really in two minds about this. My Apple nerdishness is thrilled i wonāt finally have to travel out to the burbs for Genius Bar Visits or store pickups. But the way this has been done just reeks of Apple Arrogance and it doesnāt exactly make the State Government look great either. There have been numerous opportunities for a Flagship Store to open up in a bunch of other locations. i just donāt understand why it absolutely had to be this, when other choices would have been just as great.
Iām a bit conflicted too. Itās a huge statement, but then Apple is a huge company with massive aspirations. One of which, from what Iāve read recently, is for stores to become a kind of 21st century town square. Obviously that canāt be 100% literal, but given the notion, Fed Square makes really good sense. Kinda ballsy too. It wouldnāt have been easy pulling that deal off. Iām guessing Angela Ahrendts would be a good person to have on your team in tough situations.
What other locations would be equivalent do you reckon? Serious question. None come to my mind immediately, but itās a while since I knew the city well so I figure Iām probably missing some.
Interesting. I see a nod to Japan, so perhaps some Zen Buddhist influence? Iām not really a student of architectural styles though.
Overall, the look of it is not my thing, based on these images, and I like the design less than some of the other flagship stores. I absolutely will not be complaining about being able to visit an Apple Store that isnāt in a mall though.
Probably the fact that they managed to get Melbourne to agree to tear down that (admittedly iconic) shard-y building in order to build their retail store lol
It makes the rest of the square look even more awful than it currently is in comparison.
But the way this has been done just reeks of Apple Arrogance and it doesnāt exactly make the State Government look great either.
Mmmmyes. The implication from the article is the state government had more of a role than simple regulatory approval, if āsimpleā is the appropriate word to link with this. I smell Big Government and Big Business getting together. I suspect you will find Big Union in there somewhere too once construction contracts are disclosed. The holy Triumpherate* that rules the rest of us.
*not a spelling mistake.
I think it looks good, but then taste is very subjective 
Do we start taking predictions on if it ever gets built nowā¦ or later? It will be interesting to see what arguments are put up against it and how much traction they gain. Election promises anyone?
Most of us probably couldnāt care less where itās built as long as itās within the CBD somewhereā¦ just not Southbank or Docklands
I donāt mind the style of the building but I donāt think the style or color meshes well with the rather errr distinctive style of the existing Fed Square buildings.
The location is good though.
Interesting article in The Age by one of the original architects. He reckons itās entirely appropriate and, no, they didnāt design the new store. From what Iām told, they were consulted on it though.
And in other news, employees of My Mac Federation Square updated their resumes overnightā¦
Agreed. The Apple design looks thoroughly out of place.
Surely SuperJoni could have come up with a design a bit more sympathetic to its environment.
Whereās Frank Gehry when we need him? 
Yes, out of place. But better. And an improvement compared with the graceless Godzilla den the square is currently. So ugly it has some charm though.
Liberty Sanger was on the Federation Square Board Director 2009-2012. She was on ABC 774 this morning and made some good arguments as to why the Yarra Building should go.
I think the new building will be great.
Some interesting counterpoints in the nationwide rag this afternoon.
Itās in Melbourne, and I donāt live there so Iāll reserve any judgement. If this store were being placed in a similar area and in a similar manner somewhere in Adelaide though, Iād be inclined to agree with the piece. I wouldnāt want it there anymore than Iād want an Apple Store smack bang in the middle of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Incredible architecture or not, its purpose is to sell consumer electronics, and the middle of a public use and cultural space doesnāt feel appropriate.
But hey, Melbourne, you do your thing.
The Federation Square website says itāll host workshops, classes and live music events for the public. It takes up less space than the current building, and itās designed to connect the square to the Yarra River and Birrarung Marr. It also gives more space for the squareās proposed digital art gallery.
Sure itās a commercial project, but to me it reads like Melbourne is gaining a lot more than it is losing from the removal of the existing building.