Along Florida’s southern shores, a cool coastal pavilion punctures the tropical humidity. Customers today celebrated the grand reopening of Apple Aventura just outside of Miami. An all-new location and all-new design are just part of the story behind what is undoubtedly the most noteworthy — and the most chill — Apple Store in the Southeastern United States.
Playful waves of sculpted white concrete rhythmically draw your eye across the skyline of Apple Aventura, tapering to a sharp peak at both ends. Arched panes of glass enclose each of the store’s seven ceiling vaults, creating a transparent barrier between the interior and exterior. No, Apple didn’t buy up a classic 1950s storefront or revitalize a Googie roadside gem, but it was inspired by Miami’s architectural heritage.
Apple Aventura borrows from the airy and optimistic styling of Miami Modern architecture, a mid-century vernacular characterized by its use of cast concrete, light color schemes, dynamic shapes, and extensive glass. The style became popular in South Florida between the 1940s and late 1960s following a rich era of Art Deco construction around Miami.
All of Apple’s recent flagship stores are shaped by a desire to respect the culture of the cities they are built in, often incorporating local materials. Apple Aventura joins this tradition by fusing Miami Modern architecture with iconic Apple design. The result is a fresh take on Apple retail aesthetics that feels right at home on the coast.
The new store itself is impressive enough to be a standalone structure, but the project is made even more significant by the fact that Apple Aventura is attached to Aventura Mall, the largest mall in Florida. A tree-lined garden with winding pathways steps down to a plaza dotted with tables and chairs adjacent to one of the store’s two exterior entrances.
The second set of doors exits to face the 93-foot Aventura Slide Tower. Functioning as both a slide and a sculpture, the landmark is just one of many public art installations scattered throughout the shopping center. Aventura Mall’s celebration of the arts is a perfect match to Apple’s affinity for creativity.
On the opposite side of the glass, the new Apple Aventura debuts a rethought interior layout. Customers familiar with Apple’s former classic location inside the mall will be in for a surprise. A large amphitheater softens the definition between both floors of the split-level store, sloping downward to a freestanding video wall used for hosting Today at Apple sessions.
Until now, all stores with a Forum primarily used modular wood and leather cubes to fill out the seating area. Apple Aventura’s Forum is the first exclusively furnished with fixed leather benches. Unique wooden separators with integrated outlets and USB ports provide a place to recharge.
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The amphitheater and video wall will be put to good use right away. A Latin Music Fridays collection of Today at Apple sessions is lined up through August to celebrate the grand reopening. The live music events, along with creative Labs and a Live Illustration Battle planned for opening weekend clearly express Apple’s intention behind the new design. Apple didn’t move its store for a better view of the slide tower, it moved to become a hub of community activity.
Behind the video wall, tables built for support and service mix with indoor trees forming a Genius Grove. The curved ceiling vaults visible outside have been carried indoors and run the width of the main structure with strips of integrated lighting. Apple Aventura is the second store in the Miami area built with a private Boardroom, following downtown’s Apple Brickell City Centre.
On the store’s upper level overlooking the amphitheater, another set of doors connects to Aventura Mall’s interior. Product tables here are arranged alongside freestanding Avenue display shelving, a once-uncommon design element that is gradually being put to use in more stores. Most locations use only built-in display shelving.
Apple Aventura’s grand transformation is the icing on a major Apple Store renewal initiative all throughout Florida. Since 2017, Apple has opened or remodeled 5 of its 18 stores from Miami to Jacksonville, adding video walls and Forums for Today at Apple sessions. Two more projects in Naples and Altamonte Springs are on track to open in 2019, and more remodeling and reconstruction projects will follow.
Employees and customers clapped out Apple’s former Aventura Mall store on August 8th.
