全球知名电子制造商苹果公司，不仅对其产品精益求精，在线下门店的设计上，也同样花足了心思，在全世界打造出各种创意十足的苹果商店。
最新的一家苹果商店开在了具有新加坡地标性位置的滨海湾金沙，毗邻Moshe Safdie设计的金沙酒店，四面环水，这是苹果的第一家水上商店，同时也是第一家采用球体造型的门店。从空中俯瞰，苹果金沙店就像是一枚漂浮在水面上的珍珠。
Technology manufacturer Apple has revealed its spherical Apple Marina Bay Sands store in Singapore designed by architecture studio Foster + Partners, which it describes as its “most retail project”.
Built in Singapore’s Marina Bay alongside the Moshe Safdie-designed Marina Bay Sands hotel, the Apple Store is completely surrounded by water.
该项目依旧由苹果御用设计Foster+Partners完成，堪称苹果商店设计史上的“鸿篇巨制”。在正式开张营业的前一天，就已经有人迫不及待地把这个灰色玻璃球的照片上传到了Instagram上。
The transparent glass sphere designed by Foster + Partners has been revealed ahead of the store’s opening tomorrow. Instagram users had previously posted images of the globe-shaped store wrapped in a grey covering.
苹果滨海湾金沙店地处金沙购物中心区域，人们要经过一条45米长的水下隧道，由购物中心通往苹果商店。在这条宽7.6米的通道里，两侧为产品展示柜，中央则是苹果的天才吧。
Accessed via a 45-metre-long underwater tunnel from the nearby shopping complex, the store is surrounded on all sides by the bay – creating the impression that it is floating.
“Apple’s most ambitious retail project sits on the waters of Marina Bay,” said the technology company.
The structure is connected to The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands by a 7.6-metre-wide underwater tunnel, which is flanked with product display cases and has an Apple genius bar running down its centre.
苹果金沙店独特的半球形设计，将滨海湾及周边美丽的城市风景尽收眼底，为顾客营造一种全新的令人沉醉其中的购物体验。
“Appearing as a sphere floating on the iridescent Marina Bay, the store introduces a new and captivating retail experience at one of the most iconic locations in Singapore.”
店铺的主体空间是一个高30米的开放区域，由114块特殊定制的玻璃和10根很窄的竖向钢框进行支撑，独特的穹顶结构，消解了建筑物内外的界限。在玻璃穹顶里面，一圈一圈的同心环遮阳板一直向上延伸到顶部，形成一个小圆眼天窗，让人联想到著名的“罗马万神殿”。从空中鸟瞰，苹果商店就像是一只巨大的眼睛，凝望着天空。
The store’s main space is an open-plan area within the 30-metre-diameter, self-supporting glass and steel dome. The
structure is made from 114 pieces of glass with 10 narrow, steel vertical mullions for structural support.
Customers within the store will have 360-degree views across the Marina Bay to the surrounding city.
“The structure dissolves the boundary between the inside and outside, creating a minimal platform that floats gently in the water, looking out over the bay and the spectacular Singapore skyline.”
Within the glass dome, a series of concentric light sunshade rings have been built to provide shading within the structure.
These rings rise to the top of the dome where an oculus has been created that is “reminiscent of the famous Pantheon in Rome”.
设计师说，这是一场光与影的盛宴。乍看起来平淡无奇，但随着光线的强弱而产生的美轮美奂的色彩变化，着实令人着迷。
“Apple Marina Bay Sands is all about the delicate interplay between transparency and shade,” said David Summerfield, head of studio at Foster + Partners.
“The effect is very calming, and the changing intensity and colour of the light is mesmerising. It is not only a
celebration of Apple’s incredible products, but a celebration of light.”
设计师还在店内种植了树木，10棵绿油油的榕树环绕大厅，不仅为原木极简的空间增添了一抹绿意，同时还起到了良好的遮阳作用。种植树木的花盆覆罩了皮革座套，可以当作休息的座椅。
A ring of ten trees has been placed around the edges of the shop’s main floor to provide additional shading. These trees are within leather-topped planters that can also be used as additional seating.
设计师Moshe Safdie曾经在滨海金沙湾设计了两个“水晶亭”，其中之一的几何形状的玻璃建筑，过去是Avalon的夜总会，苹果金沙店就是在它的基础上进行改建的。
Apple Marina Bay Sands replaced a previous building on the site, which was designed by Moshe Safdie as part of the original Marina Bay Sands complex. One of two “crystal pavilions”, the geometric, glass-covered building was previously home to the Avalon nightclub.
此前，苹果在新加坡已经开过两家商店，一家位于市中心，另一家在樟宜机场。
The shop will be the third Apple Store to open in Singapore following a tree-filled store in the city’s downtown area and a shop within the Jewel Changi Airport.
