“When you get your first glance at the Apple logo cut into the Indiana limestone facade of the new Apple Computer store on Michigan Avenue, you might just gag. Oh no! Doesn’t the storefront look like a supersize version of an Apple laptop? Didn’t we already get hit with brand overkill at the Michigan Avenue Disney Store, where the facade is plastered with endless Mickey Mouse logos,” asks Blair Kamin architecture critic for The Chicago Tribune.
“But a closer look reveals the Apple store, which opened Friday, to be a mostly welcome addition to North Michigan Avenue. Its crisp, skylit interior, which features a spectacular staircase made almost entirely of glass, is a luminous cathedral of computing. And the exterior? Well, despite the offending presence of the logo, it’s a decent neighbor — restrained, skillfully handled, not exactly a prizewinner, but by no means a visual disaster,” write Kamin.
Regarding the rather large Apple logo punched through the store’s front facade, Kamin writes, “You get the feeling that Apple ordered up the logo to send a message. A few years ago, people were writing off Apple. Now, though, the company’s rebounding. Having its logo punched into a stone facade — a traditional symbol of permanence — is a way for Apple and Steve Jobs, its chief executive officer, to say: ‘We’re here to stay. Come buy a Power Mac.’ …All things considered, the architects have handled the tension between calling out the brand and creating a sense of place pretty well.
Full article here.
Some people will whine about anything…
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Chicago’s north Michigan Ave. is second only to New York’s 5th Ave. in terms of being a mile-long American shrine to ultimate commercialism and consumerism, and they criticize an large corporate logo? Oh, pa-leeeze!
Apple’s neighbors are just jealous that they didn’t think of it first.
Ummm, traditionally you put your store’s name or logo on the front of your store… so people know what’s inside!…
In the words of Bill Engvall… Mr. Kamin, here’s your sign.
Aryugaetu (I’m not by the way, but that’s an inventive moniker
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This was an architectural critique, not a commentary on commercialism or technology, and the reviewer was merely pointing out that in terms of purely architectural context, the supersized logo is out of place. And what do Apple’s “neighbors” have to do with a review? The reviewer is correct in that the logo is not exactly restrained, and in fact was full of praise for the manner in which the building’s designers pulled it off. Why is it that anyone who offers an objective look at anything to do with Apple is criticized as “jealous”, and a “whiner”? Architectural reviews of Apple’s stores have in general been very positive and filled with praise, and in fact, it says something for Apple that the designs are even being noticed by architects. When last did anyone see a positive review, or any review, of a Gateway store? Apple is certainly making a statement in the design world, and not just for its industrial designs.
Sorry, if this was a pc store, most of you would say it was as butt-ugly as it really is (exterior). Looks like a big, dirty ottoman. Interior seems pretty decent.
Which would you rather have: a cheesy commercial sign or an understated window that says all you need to know? I think the window is a pretty cool thing. Once again, Apple does it with style AND substance.
I think it was cool that they got around very strict Michigan Avenue building ordinances, but its simply not the sort of architecture that you’d expect from Apple. I could easily replace the Apple logo with Windows and it’d be right at home (exterior only).