A Personal Vision

The stunning Apple store on New York’s Fifth Avenue–the 28th most photographed built landmark in the world–designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. We met Steve Jobs at NeXT and in 2000 we shaped Pixar’s home. Steve said he selected our firm [Bohlin Cywinski Jackson] because of our “great houses,” and we have been involved at Apple […]

The stunning Apple store on New York’s Fifth Avenue–the 28th most photographed built landmark in the world–designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.

We met Steve Jobs at NeXT and in 2000 we shaped Pixar’s home. Steve said he selected our firm [Bohlin Cywinski Jackson] because of our “great houses,” and we have been involved at Apple since the beginning of its retail spaces.  We got to know him as someone with a clear, personal, and powerful vision, intellectually rigorous and highly intuitive. He had great focus at all scales and saw himself at the intersection of science and art. Everything he touched was a reflection of these attributes.

apple-store-in-parisThe Apple store at the Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, with an entrance in perfect alignment with the iconic pyramid.

With this in mind, we aimed to make the places for Apple that, in conception and detail, have the precise, and in my mind, touching and dreamlike spirit of Steve’s amazing adventure. With Steve and his team we have seen these as universal spaces that can adjust to the company’s changing needs—graceful places that people love to be in—where they might interact with each other, the staff, and of course the legendary Apple products. We strived to make places with a sense of ease.

Apple Store ShanghaiThe Shanghai store, which opened last year, reprises the magic of the subterranean New York store.

Many of us joined in this search, and as a result, our lives have been changed by Steve. He had no patience for mediocrity.  His abiding demand for excellence surely means that the culture at Apple will live on for a long time.

Steve trusted us and we were friends. When we were alone together I found him at times wistful and endearing. I will miss him greatly.

Previously, Martin C. Pedersen and Metropolis’s art directors argued for Steve Jobs as the World’s Greatest Art Director; and Sally Augustin wrote about the experience of visiting the Chicago Apple store.

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