What you need to know
- Apple Carnegie Library has picked up an award for its architecture.
- The store is a winner at the American Architecture Awards.
- Foster + Partners was responsible for the store’s architecture.
Apple has some of the most beautiful retail locations on the planet and one of them has won an award. Apple Carnegie Library is a winner at the 2020 American Architecture Awards.
Created by Foster + Partners, the store was originally a public library, hence the name, and it’s immediately recognizable as something more than your average retail outlet.
Located at the heart of Washington DC, Apple Carnegie Library marks the revitalization of an important monument in the city’s history. As the city’s first public library and its first desegregated public building, the Carnegie Library of Washington DC played a central role in community life for over 70 years since its opening in 1903. After a period of neglect, Apple Carnegie Library continues the traditions of the building by creating a new platform for learning, performance, and art for a new generation.
The Apple Store opened in May 2019 and has been attracting attention ever since. It’s also one of the last stores to have the input of former Apple design chief Jonny Ive.
Carnegie Library on Mount Vernon Square also features the new DC History Center, which includes the Kiplinger Research Library, three galleries and a museum store, all owned and operated by the 125-year-old Historical Society of Washington, D.C. To restore the building to its original grandeur, Apple worked with conservation experts to carefully preserve the historic facades, return interior spaces to their original footprints, and restore distinctive early 20th-century detailing. Foster + Partners worked in close collaboration with Apple’s Chief Design Officer Jony Ive to give this cultural icon a new lease of life.
Apple is also keen to celebrate the store’s heritage, holding events that include artists of all walks of life. The store’s opening included a festival that included a weekend block party, no less.
For six weeks following opening, the StoryMaker Festival will bring together 40 artists, poets, activists, musicians, photographers, filmmakers, law makers and community builders to celebrate storytelling and inspire attendees to tell their own stories. The festival will conclude with a weekend block party to celebrate the stories the community has come together to share.
This is one of the most recognizable Apple Stores on the planet and it’s great to see that being recognized within the architecture industry.
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