Judge's comment:
The project includes three volumes: the Apple store, the bar building, and the plaza. The bar building and the plaza have been strengthened and modified and the store has replaced the old “Levi’s building” – constructed over a subterranean ballroom that remained in use during the construction.
The store, measuring 32m by 20.5m in plan, contains within the 13.5m high main steel-framed space, an 11m cantilevering mezzanine floor formed from tapered, built-up steel beams, where material reduces with demand and allows the realisation of the sharp floor profile. The south side has a large transparent façade with a pair of 12.8m tall sliding glass doors; the north side has a similar façade with 8m tall doors. The building is designed such that it would sustain little damage during earthquakes, allowing the store to be restorable to service following a major seismic event.
The judges were particularly impressed at the way in which the structure had been integrated within the architectural constraints of the building. For example, a perimeter concrete girder 2.4m deep and over 30m in length simultaneously supports the north façade and the sliding doors and counterbalances the cantilevering floor via built-up steel backspan beams that are anchored to it. There are also tuned mass dampers concealed in the cantilevering floor structure to reduce its vibration response.
The building transforms a previously unremarkable corner into a landmark destination with a new public plaza.