Is this Apple's Coolest new Store?

If the rumours are true, Apple’s third store in Singapore will be one of the world’s most unique: a glass sphere floating in the middle of Marina Bay, right at the heart of Singapore’s city centre.

UPDATE ON 24 AUGUST 2020: Apple has confirmed today that the glass sphere at Marina Bay is indeed the latest Apple Store in Singapore!

After the opening of Apple’s first official store (immaculately designed by Foster & Partners) in 2017, rumours abounded that two more stores were coming soon. The second store opened at Jewel Changi Airport in July of 2019, but the first two stores are located within shopping malls.

If the Marina Bay sphere is indeed Apple’s third store, it will be their first bespoke standalone store in Singapore. Like the first store, it’s rumoured to be also designed by Foster & Partners (as are many of Apple’s stores).

The structure is impeccably detailed, with an almost perfectly spherical form that terminates at water level with a mirrored base. The massive curved glass panels are remarkable but slightly faceted. The glass appears to have some kind of alternating stripes of varied opacity, presumably to temper Singapore’s tropical heat. A Mac-like sleek metallic gray sticker is currently applied to the glass, probably to conceal the interiors from the public prior to the grand opening.

The character of this spherical store is radically different from the other Apple stores across the world, so it will be very interesting to see how the interiors will be configured.

The main access to the sphere appears to be via a curved timber bridge from the bustling pedestrian promenade along the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) waterfront, but the previous structure occupying the site also had access from MBS via an underwater tunnel so it’s likely that the new store will as well.

Marina Bay Sands, the iconic mega development by starchitect Moshe Safdie was completed with two crystalline structures floating on the bay. Over the past few years, one of the ‘crystals’ (which housed mega nightclub Avalon) has been quietly dismantled and transformed into a floating glass orb.

I’ve been passing by the construction site this year on the way to work and have been fascinated with the ongoing construction. Check out some photos of the process below!