Al Maryah Island (formerly known as Al Sowwah Island) is fast becoming the hottest part of town in Abu Dhabi with The Galleria Al Maryah Island Mall, LPM, the Four Seasons, and most recently Zuma choosing to open on this natural 114-hectare island, east of Al Reem. Another beautifully designed addition – albeit a more modestly sized but no less impressive commercial space – was created for Apple by the prestigious British architecture firm Foster + Partners. Remarkably, it is the first Apple store in the UAE to be created outside of a mall (the other three are in Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and Yas Mall), and you can find it beneath the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange building, adjacent to The Galleria.
Elevated above the promenade, it marks a distinctive new presence as a pure rectilinear glazed structure sitting atop a cascading black water feature, paved with Absolute Black granite stone that continues along two open walkways into the store, as well as an enclosed one from the mall. That particular portal is made from milled glass with a mirrored stainless-steel doorway – it is a design piece in its own right, enveloped as it is by the sights and sounds of the water jets that cascade down over the structure. Its ceiling is made from a jointless 22-metre stretched mirrored foil that helps lend even more drama to the space through a kaleidoscopic effect that reflects the falling droplets up towards the sky.
Inside the 5.75-metre-high Apple store are wooden product tables surrounded by tall Ficus trees that touch the stretched gold carbon-fibre fabric ceiling, chosen for its ability to improve the acoustics of the space.
“The design of Apple Al Maryah Island is all about the view of the extraordinary skyline of Abu Dhabi and creating an experiential route for visitors, as they walk through surrounded by the calming water and mirrors,” says Foster’s head of the studio, Stefan Behling. “It seeks to draw the vitality of the waterfront promenade through the site and into the store, blurring the boundaries between inside and outside, and generating an exhilarating and inspirational Apple store.”
