Culture

A Forward-Looking Pavilion: Apple Park Visitor Centre

Foster + Partners architect designed a delicate pavilion for Apple located in Cupertino, California, revealing more about the design of the public gateway to Apple Park.

Nov 24, 2017 | By Andrea Sim

Situated within an olive grove, the Apple Visitor Centre features a transparent structure and its roof made of carbon-fiber.

Foster + Partners, the architecture firm designed the newly opened Apple campus encompassing a visitor centre and an Apple park in Cupertino, California.

To help visitors understand what constitutes more than a design of public space serving as a gateway to Apple Park, the Foster + Partners team came to shed light on their design works and shared their vision of space concept.

Among the unique highlights of Apple campus is the building’s expansive roof terrace, offering a beautiful view overlooking the park on top of the main building.

Inside the new public building, features a large pavilion designed with a purpose to let natural light create a warm glow, revealing the delicate colour of the wood material.

Visitors to the visitor centre can view a large-scale model of Apple Park and later adjourn to the roof terrace to experience the real thing as seen in the modelling.

The architect had intentionally played with the material palette complementing the meticulous detailing seen in the Ring Building, and mirrored the same aesthetic for its sheltered outdoor seating area to offer visitors “a relaxed setting, against the backdrop of Apple Park,” said Stefan Behling, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners.

The material used to construct the shades of the terrace is made of thin, curved carbon-fiber fins. The refined functional space is ideal for photo-taking, and on the southern end is a cafe that offers visitors every chance to enjoy the landscape.

The staircases in the main building are clad in quartz stone and the counter top at the visitor café uses the same marble material as seen in the main restaurant.


 
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