Making its first foray into India this year, Apple opened two stores in India last April—the Apple Saket in the capital, New Delhi (pictured above), and Apple BKC in the city of Mumbai (pictured below).

The Apple Saket store in New Delhi brings the authentic Apple experience to its customers with its synonymous minimalist modern interior design. Customers are greeted by a curved storefront in a white architectural shell and are led into the open-plan layout of the store. Each space is designed with natural materials sourced from the region.

At the store, customers can view the newest Apple innovations at the white oak tables and wooden displays and collect their purchases at the dedicated Pickup station.

There is also a roundtable designed for personalized Today at Apple sessions. Whether a musician, photographer, artist or first time customer, each individual can get the chance to discover how they can use their Apple products to the fullest potential at this space.

A design marvel in the heart of India, the Apple BKC located in the Bandra Kurla Complex financial, arts, and entertainment district is the first flagship destination for the tech giants. Drawing influences from Mumbai’s inherent creative spirit, Foster + Partners designed the store with a multifaceted approach to accommodate local customers and one of the most impressive Apple Store locations yet, with its sustainable and energy-efficient architecture.

Inspired by craftsmanship techniques and the abundance of natural materials within India, the store has several unique details including a lattice-patterned roof constructed out of 450,000 pieces that closely resemble the handiwork of traditional rattan weavers and cane workers. There are also elements like the fine grain stone walls sourced from Rajasthan that mirror the silky texture of luxurious georgette fabric and an array of glass panels to complete the store’s modern look.

Beyond the nature-influenced aesthetics of the store, Apple BKC is forward-thinking in the way it considers the environment. The store has achieved LEED platinum certification as it facilitates the generation of renewable energy from a dedicated solar array.

Inside the store, customers can have the chance to discover the next generation of products at the wooden table displays across the store and the brand through its Forum space on the ground floor that can offer Today at Apple Sessions for musicians, photographers, designers, and artists alike.

Opened in April last year, the Apple Myeongdong store in Seoul, South Korea, is one of the newest in Asia. Located in the heart of Seoul’s commercial district, the new two-level retail space is inside the twenty-floor mixed-use building, Center Point Myeongdong.

Tapping on the expertise of British architectural practice, Foster + Partners, the new store is a tranquil sight to behold. Merging design with unique facets of Korean culture, Apple Myeongdong has a spacious forum designed with a large video wall where local artists and talents can share their insights during curated Apple Sessions.

Foster + Partners amply used materials like wood, glass, and metal throughout the building to create a clean-lined design. There is even a touch of Korean Hanji paper, applied to the lamp shades that form part of the light installation in the boardroom on the second floor. The latter is a dedicated space where Apple’s in-house business team can conduct training sessions and discussions with entrepreneurs, developers, and other business customers.

Shoppers can also look forward to visiting unique features like the dedicated pickup station that is the first-of-its-kind around Apple stores in Asia, and the serene green scapes that feature sculptures by South Korean artists Jaehyo Lee and Vakki.

In Singapore, the Apple Marina Bay Sands has since become an architectural landmark. The waterfront building certainly makes an impression with its unique 30-metre diameter-wide, all-glass dome structure that borrows inspiration from the Pantheon in Rome. This Apple store designed by Foster + Partners comprises 114 pieces of glass, floats above the water, and offers impeccable 360-degree panoramas of the city skyline.

Other notable design features of the Apple Marina Bay Sands include a forum that allows local creatives to share their insights during Apple Sessions with its large wide-screen video wall and several trees surrounding interiors, reflecting the ‘garden city’ moniker that Singapore is well known for.

A sight to behold, Apple Central World is nestled in the heart of Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong district. Designed by Foster + Partners through its local entity F&P (Thailand)and Architects 49, this two-storey Apple Store in Thailand features a unique all-glass rounded design that has a diameter that is 24.4m long and features a cantilevered roof crafted with timber. Its central support bears a conical shape that holds up the structure vertically; this is made out of 1,461 slabs of European white oak and is noticeable from the first floor.

A curved spiral staircase leads to the main forum. In addition to this, architectural features that are set to wow customers include the freestanding wooden displays that showcase the latest range of Apple products around the circular retail area and a lush outdoor plaza filled with pagoda-shaped Terminalia trees.

A stone’s throw away from the historic Tokyo Station and the city’s famed Emperor’s Palace is the Apple Marunouchi store in Tokyo, Japan. Housed in the Mitsubishi Building built in 1973, the store features light-filled warm interiors designed with a zen-like approach. Taking a page from Japanese culture, the store by Foster + Partners has clean lines and a minimalistic palette while bringing a touch of native bamboo trees indoors and along the retail haven’s exteriors.

The two-story Apple Marunouchi store also has oversized vitrine windows that give customers a backdrop of the illuminated store and bustling streets around the surrounding area. These windows also employ specially cast aluminium to create three-dimensional, rounded corners.

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Inspired by the arts and culture of Taipei, the two-story Apple Xinyi A13 store has a modern Asian look with its pavilion-style architecture and concave reinforced roof and is made out of carbon fiber. Wall coverings and staircases are clad in a white shell to create a stark design statement while highlighting the latest range of Apple products available for viewing on freestanding wooden tables and mounted displays.

While the store is in the cosmopolitan Xinyi district, Foster + Partners made it a point to create an intimate setting for its customers and worked in close collaboration with the Apple design team led by chief design officer Jonathan Ive. For instance, the forum brings the element of nature indoors with its potted trees and wooden box seats.

Completed in 2011, the Apple IFC Mall store features a modern design style that was conceptualised by the Hong Kong-based architectural practice, Studio One Design alongside the Apple Design Team and local consultants from Woods Bagot, Ove Aurp, and JRP.

The Apple IFC Mall has a unique glass cube structure and is suspended 11m high above Man Cheung St and is 40m-wide. A central design feature inside the store is a glass spiral staircase constructed by award-winning engineering design practice, Eckersley O'Callaghan. Shoppers visiting the three-storey store can also capture brilliant views of the Hong Kong city skyline and view the latest range of Apple products on the freestanding wooden shelves.

In Shanghai, the futuristic-style Apple Pudong store is by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Architecture, the same firm behind the design of the Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York.

Housed in a large cylindrical glass drum tower that stands at 12.5 metres in height, visitors descend via the spiral glass staircase to the main retail space that features cool-tone minimalist interiors and wooden display tables filled with the latest Apple products. Unique to the store is a Genius Bar set-up where customers can receive personalised consultations from Apple staff.

This story was first published on April 13, 2023 and updated on July 6, 2023. 

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