Winter Weather Exposes Design Flaw At Chicago Apple Store
CHICAGO (CBS SF) – While opening to much acclaim earlier this year, the design of Apple's new flagship store in Chicago apparently did not account for the snow that falls each winter in the Windy City.
The apparent flaw involves the store's ultra-thin carbon fiber roof. As the weather has turned cold, icicles have formed, and the lack of gutters to catch melting snow poses a danger to pedestrians.
As a result, a public walkway and a courtyard under the roof had to be closed.
"Maybe next time Apple will consider the actual community where their stores are built," noted local blogger Matt Maldre. "Y'know, basic things like in Chicago, the weather gets cold. It snows. The snow falls off the roof. Don't design a sloping roof where the snow can't be caught or guttered off somewhere."
The $27 million store, which overlooks the Chicago River, opened to much fanfare in October.
Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin praised the building's "less-is-more modernism" and placed the Apple Store in his list of the best architecture of 2017.
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The building was designed by London-based Foster + Partners, which also helped design the company's massive new headquarters in Cupertino and the company's store in San Francisco's Union Square.
Chicago, like much of the nation, is in the midst of a severe cold snap that is expected to continue into the first week of January.
