Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail, Rumors
Sketch of proposed Boston Apple Store
More information on the upcoming Boston Apple Store is beginning to surface. The Boston Courant newspaper is reporting that the sketch above represents the design proposed by Apple to Boston's Back Bay Architectural Commission (BBAC) last week. Before you begin to ooh and aah, know that Apple is receiving a lot of opposition from the BBAC. They aren't happy with Apple's plans to demolish the building that currently resides on that lot (Bostonians: It's on Boylston directly across the street from the Pru) as well as the store's "extreme" design.
Personally, I'm hoping it all gets sorted out. As for the look of the all-glass facade, I've always felt that the blend historical and contemporary architecture that permeates Boston makes the city quite attractive indeed. But that's just me.
[Via ifoAppleStore]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Judson said 10:36AM on 3-16-2006
And... if someone runs into this large oversized box or hits it was a hammer...?
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Dipesh Navsaria said 10:37AM on 3-16-2006
Hmmm...that's interesting. I'm a little surprised they're getting picky about Boylston Street, since the character of that street has changed so much from the original already. Newbury is clearly the "brownstones converted for retail" street, with Marlborough and Beacon being the "residential brownstones" street. I can understand the issue if it was one of the other streets, but Boylston? Hmmmm...
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Wheels said 11:13AM on 3-16-2006
Of course Boston's going to get picky with Apple; Mayor Mumbles Maneyno is probably still upset because Apple snubbed MacWorld Boston a couple years ago.
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Ryan Anderson said 11:26AM on 3-16-2006
Judson - apparently, they have harnessed some new sort of science that prevents glass buildings from collapsing when hit by a hammer.
I'm all for preserving historical buildings, but I also like modern and heritage buildings living together. I don't know anything of the building they want to knock down, but I think this is an elegant integration of new and old.
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chris said 11:30AM on 3-16-2006
just so everyone is aware, the BBAC is notorious in boston for being comprised of old, rich, bitchy, people who really don't want anything to change. they just recently forced a restaurant to remove a piece of art outside (a largeish colorfully painted whale) because it "didn't match the architechture the back bay" or something like that. so you can only imagine the trouble apple is going to have getting this to fly.
they're only rivaled by their beacon hill counterparts
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Mike said 11:51AM on 3-16-2006
I think with some work the building that is currently there would make a great Apple store.
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Ethan said 1:13PM on 3-16-2006
Does anybody know if the Apple's architect is still Bohlin Cywinski Jackson? Does anybody care? It's still a shock to me that these type of articles only call it "Apple's" new design. The architect holds just as much responsibility (if not more) as to whether the design goes through or not. And as a side note, the design is not "extreme" at all. It's in a very refined Modernist style that's been around for over 50 years.
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GadgetGav said 1:22PM on 3-16-2006
This is the "historic" area they're trying to protect:
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=42.348794~-71.082933&style=o&lvl=2&scene=2978484&sp=adr.Boylston%20St%2c%20Boston%2c%20MA%2002115
What a crock of BS. Copy Cop is the blue awnings IIRC. The Pru tower on the left is a masterpiece of 70s poured concrete, the Lord & Taylor store is an ugly white box surrounding the old Lennox Hotel... Even on the side of the street that the BBAC controls things aren't much better. Lots of sidwalk seating for restaurants, though why anyone wants to sit and watch the cabs and duck busses crawl down Boylston is beyond me. It's just not a part of town I would think of as worthy of an architechtural commission and they clearly don't know good architechture when they see it. It'll serve them right if Apple doesn't come to their snooty neighborhood. It's not as if we're short of Apple Stores in metro Boston anyway...
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Metrob.us said 1:34PM on 3-16-2006
This probably won't mean much to people who don't live or work in Boston's Back Bay, but I'd like to take this opportunity to reiterate how much the Back Bay Architectural Commission utterly sucks. I just finished 18 months working in the building Apple wants to tear down, and all I can say is I'd be more than willing to help rip that eyesore down. The place is a pit, inside and out, and - as Apple pointed out - has zero historical significance. And it literally stinks, as in smells bad from the mold and god knows what else growing in the basement.
I can't imagine what the BBAC is complaining about here: there's no reason to keep the building, and if they're opposed to modern design I have to boggle at the hypocrisy when you consider the design of 801 Boylston Street (2 stores down) and the massive and ugly Mandarin Oriental hotel under construction directly accross the street (http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Third_Party_Photo/2005/05/18/1116409454_2054.jpg).
The best thing that could happen to the back bay is to get rid of the geriatric Marlboro Street idiots that make up the BBAC - they are responsible for limiting Boston's economic development, from blocking Planet Hollywood moving into 801 Boylston to virtually ensuring the death of the Hynes Convention Center by blocking a number of businesses that would have attracted convention goers.
Death to the BBAC!
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Ireland said 1:34PM on 3-16-2006
I personally think that store looks cool!
Once in a while I visit Boston and I wouldn't mind calling in to that store it looks so cool and so modern.
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Ruegen said 3:26PM on 3-16-2006
I like it! They have worked around and kept the integrity of the old buildings while modernizing them without making it look like a modern piece of crap.
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orijinal said 4:26PM on 3-16-2006
I personally like the 3 floors.
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Kevin said 4:53AM on 3-17-2006
I have heard that the building the want to demolish dates back to the 1600s!
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moiety said 12:48AM on 3-18-2006
Kevin (13), stop trolling. It's from 1902 and it was an auto store. It's practically begging to be torn down.
And don't be dumb -- no one would be allowed to set up store inside a building from the 17th century, and you know this.
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