By Katie Marsal
Published: 06:20 PM EST
An architect's portfolio has purportedly revealed a very different design Apple's second retail store for China's capital city -- one that would embrace ancient traditions while thriving on the Mac maker's signature glass and metal.
Shanghai-dwelling but American-born designer Benjamin Wood's
portfolio shows several 3D renderings of the new Beijing location, which he describes as "in progress."
Noted by readers of
ifo Apple Store the three-storey building on Qianmen Street would be dominated by very traditional Chinese architecture for its 100-foot length with historical roofing and dark wood supports; one end would be rounded off. In the middle, however, would be the glass facade now familiar with Apple's flagship stores as well as a prominent, hanging Apple logo.
Inside, the store would again be a mix of old and new with wood supports but Apple's distinctive spiral glass staircase and swaths of metal.
The location is reportedly scheduled to open as soon as this fall and would stand in stark opposition to the
Sanlitun store. Where the Qianmen Street store would potentially open just a few blocks away from Tiananmen Square and would more likely have to conform to longstanding Chinese appearances, the Sanlitun building is located in a hyper-modern shopping district and abandons many of Apple's familiar rules for the shape and size of its retail outlets.
Renderings of the new store follow below.
