Apple Cube 5th Avenue in New York: all-glass design – seele

The architects from Foster + Partners have redesigned the stairs. Instead of the all-glass staircase in the existing store, they proposed a minimalistic mirror-finish stainless steel construction with integral lift. seele has provided a central steel structure, the “drum”, to achieve this complex staircase design. Sheet steel annular segments, cut with water jets, provide the shape. These are welded to vertical hollow steel sections to create a 10m high cylindrical framework with an outside diameter of 3m and a weight of almost 12t. The cladding on the outside of the drum is made from stainless steel panels with a mirror finish. Running in the centre of the steel structure is the lift linking the entrance level with the retail area underground. The lift car has a backlit satin-finish glass floor, a clear glass roof and etched glass walls.

Header image: © Aaron Hargreaves / Foster + Partners