![]() Taking the staircase causes a very slight disorientation, but with all that water running down the walls, to fall lightly on the first basement floor, covering the view of the amphitheatre, it comes across as a pleasant sensation which has been carefully designed. This is an inevitable solution to the desire for a single lateral anchoring of the steps, together with that of achieving a special play of refracted sunlight coming in from the glass structure above. This is also the case with the mezzanine level, which is reached via a very particularly-designed staircase, made up of steps that when seen from below assume a sculptural form in prismatic metal. It is illuminated by a series of windows which from below reveal glimpses of the movement in the amphitheatre.įurthermore, the underground structure that has been obtained in the space that used to house the auditoriums of the Apollo cinema has also been constructed with the same Beola Grigia as the upper area. The two are connected, as the sales area, despite being “at the bottom of the stairs, is not in a dark well”, underlines Stefan. ![]() As Stefan Behling, Executive partner of Foster + Partners, who worked in close contact with the Apple team, explained: “The Liberty store is our artistic interpretation of Italian urban talent: a large external theatre and another underground”. These are instead to be found two floors underground, in an organised space with specially-designed wooden tables, just like in all the Apple stores.Īchieving this level of design austerity in a place like Italy, with its rich historical and artistic background, was not a simple task. ![]() Even more appreciated is the fact that, as Franca Valeri said of the composure of the shop windows in nearby Via Montenapoleone, apart from the symbol of the bitten apple discretely applied to the structure, there is no sign of an iPhone, iPad or MacBook Pro in sight. ![]() In this sense, the fact that it is not immediately clear that the glass structure surrounded by fountains in the centre of Piazza Liberty - just a short distance from San Babila - is the entrance to the first Apple flagship store in Italy will be a source of delight to the Milanese. There are those who know how to revel in luxury in these parts, of course, but they steer clear of exhibitionism. “La Dolce vita” is a view of Italy which has little to do with Milan, yet the way in which the new Apple Store Liberty has managed to adapt it to the city is a perfect example of its austere spirit. ![]()
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