Inside New York’s Chic Upper East Side Apple Store

Upper East Side Apple Store interior design

A new Apple Store in Manhattan’s Upper East Side opened last month at 940 Madison Avenue. This is the Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s fifth retail store in New York (they’ve designed several more in other areas) and it’s a beauty.

Upper East Side Apple Store

Upper East Side Apple Store

Located in an elegant, Beaux Arts building on Madison Avenue, the store was originally designed in 1922 to be the US Mortgage & Trust Bank. The neighborhood is characterized by a mixture of luxury-brand retail shops and several notable landmarks, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Marcel Breuer’s Whitney Museum.

new york apple store exterior

Realizing the potential of the existing building, Apple collaborated with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and its consultant team to restore its general ambiance, with a priority on preservation. Sensitive alterations were needed to provide a suitable customer experience, including modifications to the main hall and the creation of new cellar spaces, which houses the bank’s original vault.

old vault Upper East Side Apple Store

old Vault in Upper East Side Apple Store

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson led the reconstruction of the original banking hall, which now serves as the main sales floor, by moving partitions and mezzanines to create a light and airy quality.

apple store interior upper east side

apple store interior

And while many original interior elements remained, several important finishes needed to be brought back to life, such as the marble entry, plaster coffered ceilings, and six original chandeliers, which were reproduced with the help of historic photographs and blueprints.

Upper East Side Apple Store interior

inside the Upper East Side Apple Store

Apple Upper East Side 7

 visual merchandising at Upper East Side Apple Store

Headphones on display at Apple’s new store:
headphone display at upper east side apple store

Apple Watches on display at Apple’s new store:

The cellar level involved considerable structural work with the removal of columns and thick bearing walls. This new arrangement now houses Apple’s customer training programs and the company’s most recent merchandizing concept for the display and sale of accessories. The original vault room is repurposed as a private sales space to allow for a more personal customer experience.

retail store design

apple store interior merchanding

The building’s exterior remained largely intact and was restored as closely as possible to its original condition. Paint, stone, and grout were reconditioned; the windows, which are mostly original, required significant repair and painting.

The design team collaborated with local artisans to leverage their expertise for the reconstruction work, including Aurora Lampworks (chandeliers), EverGreene Architectural Arts (plaster), and Nine Stone Marble & Tile (marble).

apple store design team Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
above: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s Apple Store, Upper East Side Design Team (L-R):Jeff Lew (PHL), David Murray (PHL), Carson Davis (SF), Brigham Keehner (PHL), Sarah Harkins (PHL), Megan Strenski (PHL), Karl Backus (SF), David Andreini (SF)

Additional New York stores designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Apple Store, Fifth Avenue (2006, 2011)
Apple Store, SoHo (2002, 2012)
Apple Store, Upper West Side (2009)
Apple Store, West 14th Street (2007)

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has also designed several Apple stores in other cities such as Shanghai, Barcelona and Stanford.

building description courtesy ofBohlin Cywinski Jackson
interior photos: Carson Davis
exterior photo: Hufton + Crow Photography.

additional interior photos courtesy of AP Photo/Mark Lennihan via mashable