After over two years of architectural design work, city hearings and negotiations with planners, Apple has received design approval from the Portland (Ore.) Landmarks Commission for a future store at 437 N.W. 23rd Avenue. The revised design completely eliminates the massive, gray stone and glass façade originally proposed, and replaces it with a ebony-brick exterior and wood awning design that more resembles surrounding buildings. Apple first applied for design advice from the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission in September 2005, and received negative feedback for the design that duplicated the North Michigan Avenue (Chicago) store, and didn’t match the neighborhood in either scale or design. In the commission’s approval early this month, the group was concerned only with the design of the set-back at the rear of the 5,000 square-foot building. Building regulations permit only a small building projection into the space between the building and the adjacent property line. In this case, Apple’s design includes a stairway that exceeded that projection limit, but the commission still approved the building design. The existing building is slated for demolition, followed by construction, which could take one year to complete. Download (pdf) the commissions’ decision for the details on the conditions the group placed on the final store design.
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