Foster + Partners tapped for new Apple Store designs
updated 12:12 pm EDT, Wed April 10, 2013
'Spaceship' campus architects take lead in Apple projects
Architectural firm Foster + Partners has been picked to design at least some future Apple Stores, say sources close to the project in contact with Marketing. Unmentioned is which outlets the firm might be working on, or when they might be completed. "Any project for Apple is confidential and therefore we are unable to comment," an F+P spokeswoman states.
Apple has previously worked on retail designs with companies like 8 Inc. and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. 8 Inc. is perhaps most famous for handling Apple's Fifth Avenue and Regent Street locations. F+P, though, is the company handling Apple's new "spaceship" campus in Cupertino, which may have cemented a relationship between the two parties. Apple may also simply want to keep a consistent look in its upcoming buildings.
The budget for the new campus has reportedly jumped by $2 billion, prompting a delay in the project as F+P tries to slash $1 billion. Some of the cost of the building has been blamed on its originator, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who demanded extreme attention to detail and in some cases unusually expensive materials.
