Apple Regent Street

Apple Regent Street in London at dusk, the domed 1898 Portland stone building with four tall glazed arches lit from within, flanked by its 1920s wings and shoppers on the pavement
Location: London, United KingdomType: Retail StoreYear: 2016Architect: Foster + PartnersPhotographer: Nigel Young
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Apple Regent Street by Foster + Partners in London

Apple Regent Street is Apple’s flagship retail store in London, set behind the Grade II-listed facade of a domed 1898 building on Regent Street. Opened in 2004 as Apple’s first store in Europe, it was reimagined by Foster + Partners in collaboration with Apple’s design and retail teams, led by Jonathan Ive and Angela Ahrendts. After more than a year of works the store reopened on 15 October 2016, the first in Europe to show the new generation of Apple stores that Foster + Partners had unveiled in San Francisco that May.

Grand hall of Apple Regent Street seen from the mezzanine, oak tables and trees between stone-clad columns under the luminous ceiling, Forum cubes in front and red buses in the arched windows

An 1898 domed building on Regent Street

Regent Street was laid out by John Nash in the early 19th century and almost entirely rebuilt under the control of the Crown Estate between 1895 and 1927. Nos. 235-241, the domed centrepiece of the block, are among its oldest buildings: designed by G. D. Martin for T. H. Brooke-Hitching on the site of the former Hanover Chapel, the Portland stone block in a busy Free Classical style is crowned by a copper dome on an octagonal drum. It housed the London showroom of the Venetian mosaic and glass makers Salviati, whose firm also worked on the mosaics of St Paul’s Cathedral and the Albert Memorial, and their mosaics still decorate the spandrels of the arcade with the arms of the City of London, the City of Westminster and the Royal Arms. The building was listed Grade II in 1973.

Double-height hall of Apple Regent Street with rows of Ficus trees and oak tables under the long luminous ceiling panels, leading to the video wall of the Forum

A 7.2-metre grand hall behind the historic facade

Apple cleaned and preserved the historic facade of Portland stone, Carrara marble and hand-cut Venetian smalti glass tiles. Inside, the architects removed the store’s former U-shaped mezzanine and glass staircase, three columns were relocated and the back of the store was pushed out to form one large open space. The result is a 7.2-metre-high, double-height grand hall conceived as a ’town square’, from which the full-height, Portland stone-clad arches of the front facade can be appreciated in their full extent, while the tall glazed arches flood the store with daylight and strengthen the link between its two levels.

Stone staircase at Apple Regent Street seen side-on, the recessed handrail stepping diagonally past two landings across a wall of pale banded stone

Ficus trees, luminous ceilings and a warm palette

The extra height made room for twelve Ficus Ali trees on the ground floor, a grove set in planters designed by Apple’s ID Studio and Foster + Partners that double as places to sit and rest. Overhead, the longest Luminous Ceiling Panels in the world cover the entire ceiling, custom-made panels that give a pure, even white light and absorb ambient noise. The warm palette of stone, wood and terrazzo, with sandblasted Castagna stone walls, oak tables and bronze accents, was chosen to be sympathetic to the historic building. ’The new Apple Regent Street is about a respectful dialogue between old and new – carrying forward a heritage of craftsmanship in a contemporary way,’ said Stefan Behling of Foster + Partners.

Detail of a stair landing at Apple Regent Street where the carved stone balustrade turns, a warm-toned handrail recess cut into the pale stone wall beside a projecting stone corner

The Avenue, the Forum and the Boardroom

Apple’s signature display tables are set against the Avenue, a completely redesigned wall display along the perimeter where visitors can try products and accessories. In the middle of the space, the Forum is a learning environment where experts from many fields come to entertain, inspire and teach, with seating for up to 75 people and a vast video wall that acts as an animated backdrop for the whole store. Overlooking the grand hall, the new mezzanine set among the treetops hosts Apple’s Geniuses and the Boardroom, a place for meetings and partnerships with app developers, digital entrepreneurs and small start-ups.

Stone staircases carved into the wall

The mezzanine is reached by a staircase on either side of the video wall, along the side walls. The walls and stairs are made of sandblasted stone, while the balustrade, seemingly carved into the wall, has a smooth, curved and honed finish that is pleasant to the touch. The stone walls and balustrades were made through a combination of hand craftsmanship and CNC robotics, and were dry-assembled at the manufacturing site to make sure every piece fitted perfectly before installation.

Team and credits

Apple Regent Street was designed by Foster + Partners in close collaboration with Apple’s teams and reopened to the public in October 2016, twelve years after the store first opened. Behling described it as a place for people to meet and collaborate that ’goes beyond retail’. The photographs are by Nigel Young of Foster + Partners.

Apple Regent Street gallery

Apple Regent Street in London at dusk, the domed 1898 Portland stone building with four tall glazed arches lit from within, flanked by its 1920s wings and shoppers on the pavementGrove of Ficus trees in round planters with leather-topped seating at Apple Regent Street, oak display tables with laptops and the lit Avenue wall displays beyondGrand hall of Apple Regent Street seen from the mezzanine, oak tables and trees between stone-clad columns under the luminous ceiling, Forum cubes in front and red buses in the arched windowsNight view of Apple Regent Street from the wet street, four full-height arched windows framing the trees and glowing interior beneath the stone facadeDouble-height hall of Apple Regent Street with rows of Ficus trees and oak tables under the long luminous ceiling panels, leading to the video wall of the ForumA visitor on one of the twin stone staircases at Apple Regent Street, its smooth curved balustrade carved into the pale sandblasted stone wallStone staircase at Apple Regent Street seen side-on, the recessed handrail stepping diagonally past two landings across a wall of pale banded stoneZigzag stone balustrade of a staircase at Apple Regent Street rising past a landing, its honed curved edge catching soft daylightDetail of a stair landing at Apple Regent Street where the carved stone balustrade turns, a warm-toned handrail recess cut into the pale stone wall beside a projecting stone corner

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