The Newest Apple Store Has a Unique ‘Biophilic’ Design

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Apple has opened some unique and interesting Apple Stores over the years. While most have become relatively pedestrian affairs, echoing Apple’s general retail aesthetic, every so often, the company does something outside the box.
Such was the case with Apple’s Fifth Avenue Store in New York City, built under a massive towering glass cube and opened personally by Steve Jobs in 2006. The boxy Power Mac G4 Cube style was later matched by San Francisco’s Market Street Store, while Shanghai took the all-glass aesthetic in a cylindrical direction.
In 2020, Apple built a retail store in Marina Bay, Singapore, as a giant floating glowing orb emblazoned with the Apple logo. It remains among the coolest Apple Stores ever, with the tagline “the lantern on the bay.”
Now, Apple is going in another new direction with Apple Miami Worldcenter, a brand-new “naturally inspiring” store that focuses on blending in with the environment.
While the new store opened today in downtown Miami, Apple gave us a teaser of it earlier this week, describing it as one of the most environmentally friendly stores it’s ever opened:
Created from the ground up to reflect Apple’s values, Apple Miami Worldcenter is built with the environment in mind using a regionally sourced mass timber structure and other low-carbon materials, which significantly reduced the carbon intensity of its construction. Like all Apple facilities, Apple Miami Worldcenter’s operations run on 100 percent renewable energy and are carbon neutral.
Apple
This includes a biophilic design. That’s a term you probably haven’t heard before (it’s a first for us), but it’s apparently common in the building industry to refer to a style that connects occupants to the natural environment, both through the use of direct elements from nature, and just the general layout and feel of the space. The term is new, but architects and designers equate it to ancient structures going back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
There are several ways to achieve biophilia in a spatial structure, and Apple has gone with decorating the area with plants and flora “inspired by the multicultural Latin American influence of Miami,” giving it a connection to both nature and cultural roots. Exterior pathways and benches allow visitors to enjoy the natural surroundings, and these green spaces extend to the roof of the store, which is also covered with greenery to the point of looking like camouflage from an aerial view.
Miami is a city with a history, culture, and life all its own, and we are thrilled to capture that energy with Apple Miami Worldcenter in downtown Miami. This new store brings Apple values to life in every detail, while celebrating the creativity of the city with an incredible lineup of in-store sessions. Our team can’t wait to welcome customers and share exceptional personal shopping and support experiences like only Apple can.
Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail and People
The biophilic aspect extends to the interior of the store, which has more wood grain than we’ve seen in most Apple Stores, reflecting the timber structure. It’s also the first Apple Store in Miami to feature a dedicated pick area and Genius Bar combo and focuses on accessibility with “varied table and seating heights for product discovery and support,” open spaces for wheelchair users, and portable hearing loops for shoppers who use hearing aids.
Apple Miami Worldcenter is the 10th Apple Store in Miami. To celebrate its opening, Apple is also running special Today at Apple sessions to highlight the store’s “environment-centered design and natural elements.”