I headed over to the Shoppes at the Marina Bay Sands again, the upscale shopping mall I discussed a while ago at the beginning of the series. This time, however, it was to see and document a most unusual Apple Store. Called the Apple Marina Bay Sands, this spherical glass structure opened in September 2020. As you can see, it appears to float in the bay.

What you can’t see from this vantage point is an angular Louis Vuitton store on the other side of the mall, which also has this floating effect. The Apple Store’s architecture contrasts with the Louis Vuitton design but echoes its core “floating” concept.

Here’s a close-up of the Apple Store. Look closely, and you can see people and the signature trees inside that are often used at Apple’s retail establishments. As you can see, the floor area is not very large.

There are two ways to enter the sphere. From the outside, there’s a bridge, which you can see in the first photo. The large entrance is an escalator-connected underground tunnel to the central mall. You can see the pair of escalators leading into a subterranean space. The Apple retail store also continues in the underground area, which significantly enlarges the retail footprint.

I struggled to adequately document the sphere’s interior uniqueness. The 24mm lens wasn’t wide enough to take in the expansive circular architecture. You can see a curve in the windows. The louvered pattern extends all the way to the top.

Perhaps the most unique indoor perspective is a picture of the ceiling. You can see the louvers that control the lighting and an oculus at the top.

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