Apple fans finally have a place of worship as Apple Orchard Store opens

It is going to be a place for devotees.

Belmont Lay | May 25, 2017, 02:32 PM

Going to an Apple store is akin to entering a place of worship.

Which is why the Apple Orchard Store opening on May 27 is so exciting, if you're an Apple fan:

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Fervent Apple buffs step into a serene space, white-washed and spartan. They will be assisted by gurus who can show them the way.

Apple fans are not just users. Or customers. They are devotees. iSheep.

Regular Apple Premium Reseller stores currently littered across Singapore have failed to convey 5 percent of the aesthetics of the real deal.

Consider that the Apple Orchard Store has an indoor ficus tree.

The evenly-lighted space with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a feeling of openness, borrows liberally from the pseudo-ascetic sensibilities.

The outside facade of the store even breaks the original mould of the Knightsbridge Grand Park Orchard building. The building literally has to accommodate Apple.

Tech prophet Jaron Lanier said so himself, in an oft-quoted passage about how the late Steve Jobs made himself into a guru and his company, a cult:

Consider the way he used physical spaces. Jobs always created personal and work spaces that were spare like an ashram, but it is the white Apple store interior that most recalls the ashram. White conveys purity, a holy place beyond reproach. At the same time, the white space must be highly structured and formal. There must be a tangible aura of discipline and adherence to the master's plan.

The glass exteriors and staircases of elite Apple stores go further. They are temples, and I imagine they might someday be repurposed for use along those lines.

At the Orchard store, Apple's line-up of products will be displayed on wooden tables.

The second floor is a wide space for Apple's upcoming series of programmes called Today at Apple.

Apple employees are on standby and have already been briefed.

This is the Jobsian way. Perfected by Apple. Copied by legions of wannabes.

Which is why, all the stores by the other mobile phone brands all look so similar today, but never as perfect as Apple.

 

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Top photos via mrbrown

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