Apple’s flagship Chicago Apple Store may be designed to look like a giant MacBook, but it’s apparently not designed to cope with the area’s harsh winters and snowfall.
Or, at least, that’s according to a local Chicago blog, which reveals how the North Michigan Ave. Apple Store’s sloping roof has run into problems in the snow, resulting in parts of the store’s outdoor area being cordoned off.
“[T]he fancy roof has a problem,” the author, Matt Maldre, writes. “The edges of the roof slope down without any gutters to catch the melting snow. Pedestrians under the roof will get attacked by sliding snow. Since this store is a community hub, people are supposed to gather around the store and delight in their Apple products. But now they’ll get hit by falling icicles!” As a result, Apple has roped off the outside community area.
Apple’s Chicago flagship
Apple’s store is located on the iconic “Magnificent Mile.” It opened this year, meaning that this is its first Chicago winter. The Apple plaza-level entrance was designed by longtime Apple partner Foster+Partners, and reportedly cost Apple more than $60 million. It was intended as an homage to Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style home, with all glass walls and a metal roof.
This isn’t the first time the new retail store has caused Apple a headache. In October, Apple agreed to dim the lights of its fancy new Chicago Apple Store during the fall months due to deadly bird strikes. According to the volunteer group Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, dead birds were found at the Apple Store site, due to their propensity for becoming disoriented due to the lights, before crashing into the walls.
It’s worth noting that, in both of these cases, the Apple Store isn’t the only building affected by either snowfall or bird flight. That doesn’t make it any less annoying, though.
An example of form of function? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
