Glass Lantern, Istanbul, Turkey

The architecture and full glory of the new Zorlu Center (Istanbul, Turkey) Apple retail store has been revealed, and it includes a huge white roof with the iconic Apple logo, visible from the heights of the surrounding apartment buildings. The compact, two-level store itself is entirely under the plaza, but is topped by a first-ever rectangular “lantern” composed of four single panes of glass and a white roof. Portions of the store are visible through the windows from the plaza level. The store’s two glass staircases are also visible through huge glass panes over the top of each stair run on the sides of the store. One staircase leads downward from the lower public space to the back-of-house spaces. The plaza level lantern (an architectural term) is surrounded by a water fountain constructed of black stone. The water is pumped over the edge of the fountain in an “infinity” effect.