West Lake Apple Store Hangzhou

In 2015 Hangzhou's second Apple store was completed. The design features a 15-metre high box with a glass facade and minimalistic aesthetics. Inside the volume a cantilivered, extremely slim floor extends 12 metres from the rear wall, creating a 9-metre-high open space. It acts like a floating stage and creates a sense of space and calm – in contrast with the busy store and city itself. The floor owes it's slender construction to the use of mass dampers which eliminate vibration. Above the floor an imposing, completely streamlined white ceiling covers the box. During the day the white surface draws very little attention, at night it emits a pure glow through lightning panels. This effect extends to the outside of the building through the transparant glass facade, consisting of eleven double-glazed panels. The threads of the glass staircases on opposite sides of the store are held in place by bolts, fixed into the glass.

Expertise: Structural engineering, Architecture Features or Specials: Glass façade, Structural glass