Apple on Thursday gave journalists a peek at their new Union Square retail store in San Francisco. The new store, which opens on Saturday, offers a number of new features and services.
New features include a plaza with public seating and W-Fi, which features a fountain sculpture by Ruth Asawa that was preserved during the construction process. A new piece is joining Asawa’s sculpture, “Love” by local artist Laura Kimpton.
The store will also include 42-foot sliding glass doors, and the interior will include a “Forum” area that will feature a 6K resolution video wall. The area will host programs for developers, teachers, and children, and will also feature sessions on art and gaming.
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From Apple’s Press Release:
Features in the new Apple Union Square design include:
- “The Avenue,” inspired by the window displays along a boulevard that dynamically change with the season. Avenue walls are interactive themed “windows” where Apple’s products and services come to life, from music, to creativity, apps, photography and more. New “Creative Pros,” Apple experts in creative arts, offer advice and expertise at each of the displays. Customers will also find “Only at Apple” products on the Avenue, a curated collection of third-party accessories.
- “Genius Grove” invites customers to get support working side-by-side with Geniuses under the comfortable canopy of local trees in the heart of the store.
- “The Forum” is a vibrant gathering place, centered around a 6K Video Wall. It is home to “Today at Apple,” which brings to the community the world’s most talented artists, photographers, musicians, gamers, developers and entrepreneurs to inspire and educate our customers to go further with the things they are passionate about. Today at Apple includes year-round programs for kids, new monthly events for teachers, sessions for current and aspiring developers, Creative Sessions in partnership with local experts in creative arts, Game Night with editors from Apple’s App Store® and more. The Forum and Video Wall are a place of discovery, including events about the making of movies from iTunes®, or exclusive premieres of new music and music videos from Apple Music™.
- “The Plaza” will be found only at Apple’s most significant stores, including Apple Union Square. It’s open to the public 24 hours a day, features public Wi-Fi and seating, and takes Today at Apple outside, with a regular weekend series of well known local acoustic performances such as Travis Hayes and global talents like Escondido, who will then give exclusive interviews about their craft in the Forum. The Plaza at Apple Union Square features a fountain by well-known San Francisco sculptor Ruth Asawa, originally commissioned in 1969, and a new work, “Love” by local artist Laura Kimpton, commissioned by Hyatt Hotels.
- “The Boardroom” is an intimate space where the store’s Business Team offers hands-on advice and training to entrepreneurs, developers and other small and medium business customers.
Apple says the store will be powered entirely by renewable energy, which includes solar panels installed on the roof of the facility.
The new Union Square store will open at 10AM Pacific time, on Saturday, May 21. The store it replaces, the Stockton Street Store, will close for business its final time on Friday evening.
