Upper West Side - Construction Detail

In November 2009 Apple opened the very high-profile Upper West Side (NYC) store, revealing a brand new architecture that extended their prevous model of stone, glass and stainless steel. The store is remarkable for its size, volume and interior view from many angles. Most passersby or visitors simply see it as a whole experience. However, the details of the store are just as interesting.

The following diagrams and annotated photographs show the details about the store, including the pattern of stones on the walls.

The above diagram shows the overall plan of the building: a U-shaped set of stone walls, capped with an angled glass façade.

In the above photo, you can see the left exterior wall detail overlaid on the photo—the individual stones are 60" x 30" x 30", making them a complement to the 30" x 30" stone tiles used for the flooring.

As outlined on the photo, the stones are set with their ends at alternate locations to create a "running bond," in the terminology of masonry. To create the offset, every other row begins and ends with the stone rotated 90-degrees so that its 30-inch face is out. Other stones have their 60-inch face facing out.

The left wall facing 67th Street is 18 stones tall and 18 stones wide (alternate rows are actually 16 full stones, and two half-stones). The thickness of the outside wall is one stone set long, and one stone set short (60" + 30"), as outlined in the above photo.

In the above view of the interior, the same stone pattern applies—half stones begin and end each alternate row, with full-length stones in between.

There are 14 rows top-to-bottom, and each side wall is 14 stones deep (again, alternate rows are 12 full stones, two half-stones). The back wall is 12 full stones left-to-right, and 15 stones high. The extra row of stones on the back wall accounts for the arch in the roof.

The above photo shows how the wall and floor stone align at the right-front of the store. You can see that the short face of the wall stones match the 30-inch square size of the floor tiles. The second wall stone is showing its 60-inch face.

The above map was generated from the City of New York's geofile, showing the intersection of
Broadway and West 67th Street at an angle of about 64 degrees. Notice that 67th St. is one-way
at this point, heading towards Central Park. Broadway is two-way with a divider in the middle
planted with trees and shrubs. The red outline was generated by the city's mapping program—
it's not clear why there is an easement running north from 67th St. through the property.

The above photos shows "The Corner," where Broadway and 67th Street intersect at an angle of 64 degrees. This angle is preserved at every point of the storefront: the front door setback is angled to the same degree, as are the glass support fins for the front windows.