Apple The Exchange TRX opens
Let's study the design of Malaysia's first Apple Store.
On June 22, Apple The Exchange TRX opened in Kuala Lumpur. As Malaysia’s first Apple Store, this location is special both to Apple and to the customers who’ve waited so long for an official Apple Store in their country. It’s also quite architecturally special, notably distinct even as the global Apple Store count ticks to 530. How about a closer look?
There are several ways to approach Apple The Exchange TRX, and each offers an entirely different first impression. Let’s start at the top. Near the center of TRX City Park, the trees clear to reveal an expansive events lawn, giving visitors an unobstructed view of the mesmerizing layered canopy that rises from the park.
This structure is quite a marvel. Like Apple Marina Bay Sands, the roof makes use of shading blades — essentially a type of baffle — to shield the store from the heat. Between each blade are horizontal panes of glass. The layers of angled blades diminish as they reach the center of the roof, where a skylight with curved corners completes the oculus. Encircling the skylight is a diffused lighting element that, like at Apple Jing’an, is color temperature controlled and enhances the ambient lighting at night.
What’s most remarkable here is that the entire roof is supported not by huge stone walls, but by a band of long horizontal glass panels with curved corners. By my count, the entire perimeter of the store is composed of just 10 straight glass panes, 4 curved corner panes, and four glass doors split between the canopy’s two entrances. Thin supports divide each pane, practically dissolving into the glass thanks to their mirrored finish. Between this engineering feat and the reveal of Apple Pudong’s new entrance last week, Apple’s structural glass teams must be riding pretty high right now.
I think “canopy,” not “pavilion” is the most apt way to describe the roof structure because the store’s gathering space is not at the park level. Stepping inside the canopy is more like approaching the edge of a vast canyon. A narrow observation walkway with a glass balustrade wraps the edge of store, offering visitors a chance to peer down from a dizzying height. At the bottom of the canyon is a Vintage D gem.
Despite its appearance atop TRX City Park, none of the store is underground. The park is on the roof of the mall, and Apple occupies levels 3, 2, and 1. There are four more levels below Apple’s lowest.
To allow visitors to descend from the canopy, Apple has engineered an elaborate quartz and glass staircase paired with a machine room-less, freestanding elevator shaft. Opposing sides of the elevator shaft are fitted with fluted glass. The staircase, too, is mostly freestanding and seemingly self-supported. This makes it less rigid than traditional staircases, a feeling that’s evident as you wind between the three floors, which are split by several landings.
As with a canyon, when you descend into the store, stone walls begin to envelope your view and the ambient light decreases. Tables on level 2, the Forum level, have lamps to compensate.
In front of the staircase is the store’s giant video wall. This isn’t the first time Apple’s built a freestanding video wall on the upper level of store, but it remains impressive every time. Video walls are heavy, and their infrastructure demands shape the structural engineering of the store.
The Forum level has room for eight tables, four of which are reserved for service and learning. This level is a bit smaller than the one below it because it’s essentially a balcony — open to below both at the front of the store and in the back, where two terrazzo bridges connect to Backstage areas. Follow the right bridge and you’ll arrive at the Boardroom, which Apple hasn’t mentioned, but does indeed exist.
On the opposite end of the floor, two curved extensions lead to side entrances accessible from level 2 of the mall. This is by far the least exhilarating way to enter the store, though it does make it significantly more accessible.
Descend to level 1, and you’ll reach our metaphorical canyon floor, where a lone upholstered bench offers a place to rest after your hike. There are 18 more tables here, and 55 feet of Avenue space on each of the left and right walls. Where it’s not open to the canopy, level 1 has an acoustic wood ceiling system that gives the space a feeling of warmth and calm in stark contrast to the cavernous, bright area above.
On the left wall, 15 feet of Avenue has been carved out to make room for a cozy Apple Pickup alcove lined in white oak. This design is evocative of Apple Valley Fair, where the pickup counter made its first appearance back in 2020. Personally, it’s one of my favorite extensions to the Avenue concept.
The entire face of the store is glazed where it connects to the mall, and a large, backlit Apple logo is set in the center of the glass above double doors that open onto level 1. This is the fifth and final store entrance, and it’ll probably be the most used by mall visitors. Viewed from this angle, the store can be thought of as a refined expression of the design concept trialed just over a decade ago at Apple Zorlu Center, where a rooftop skylight introduces a massive mall store below.
At this point, I have just one question: how long will Apple continue to open Vintage D stores? The last three — TRX, Jing’an, and BKC, were all long-term projects with extended design timelines. Will we know when we’ve seen the last?
On opening day, the first customers inside received a “Jom” tote bag in an exceptionally sturdy box. For further study on Apple The Exchange TRX, I recommend this profile of the store by Lifestyle Asia and this WWDC interview with Karen Rasmussen, Vice President, Apple Online Store, and Hayley Richardson, Worldwide Programming and Events Lead, Apple Retail. Videographer smashpop also talked to Deirdre O’Brien ahead of the store opening.
Milton Keynes
On June 29, a redesigned Apple Milton Keynes will open at Midsummer Place, a shopping mall roughly an hour by train from Central London. The new store is located on the ground floor of the mall, two doors down from the existing store, which opened in March 2008. It’s hard to overstate how needed this move is. The existing store, though two levels tall, is a minuscule unit just one table wide. With Apple Vision Pro coming to the U.K. on July 12, the timing couldn’t be better.
The old store will be closed starting June 26 to prepare for the move.
In the Netherlands, Apple Haarlem will close temporarily starting June 27.
Back To School
This past week, Apple launched its annual Back To School offer. This year, the branding is iMessage-themed, and that extends to physical Apple Stores, which have added window decals and easels matching the Apple Store Online. New this year is a surprising and really fun table fixture. Placed in the center of a spotlight table with Mac laptops and iPads, the fixture elevates dimensional iMessage bubbles that read “Hey students!” and “Let’s chat,” complete with a heart Tapback.
Apple is also offering a college-ready Today at Apple session: Spotlight: Find the Right Mac Laptop for You.
The Mac Observer Show
Earlier this spring, I joined Ken Ray at The Mac Observer for a high-level discussion about everything Apple Retail. The episode is now available on Apple Podcasts. Ken and I talked about Apple Vision Pro demos, the evolution of Apple Retail, and about some of my own projects like Facades.
Featured image
Apple Causeway Bay
Photo via @sheisjoya.
Is it likely that store reopenings such as the Milton Keynes will include handing out tote bags?
Great write up, as ever.
I like it but there's something missing: trees! no green! What happened? Have they decided to get rid of them going forward?