Mirage at Apple Park
Mirage at Apple Park
A one-of-a-kind public sculpture opens in Cupertino.
On June 1, Apple, artist Katie Paterson, and architectural studio Zeller & Moye completed Mirage, a public sculpture located in the olive grove adjacent to Apple Park Visitor Center.
400 cast-glass pillars made from sand collected from deserts around the world follow a sinuous path through the olive trees. During the day, the sun illuminates each cylinder and highlights subtle variations in the texture and color of the glass. At night, the artwork is lit from below and glows gently.
At the trailhead, a plaque detailing the intent of the artwork guides visitors to mirage.place, an interactive website where you can discover the geographic origin of each glass pillar. If you’re stopping at the Visitor Center or in Cupertino for WWDC, clear some time to slow down and enjoy Mirage.
Here’s what the artists have to say:
Together the columns combine the world’s deserts transformed into liquid-like material, flowing like a dune shaped by the wind. Mirage is a global artwork. In the spirit of co-operation, sand was sustainably collected, in partnership with UNESCO, geologists and communities across the world’s desert regions. The artwork celebrates each of the lands from which it is created, and the people who nurture, conserve, and sustain these lands.
Mirage is a collaboration years in the making. Apple sought city approval for the artwork last May, and the project was first publicly announced in July 2021.
When Apple Park Visitor Center opened in 2017, the olive grove was little more than some tufts of grass and a footpath connecting the parking lot to the store. The opening of Mirage completes a decade-long transformation of the Apple Park grounds from asphalt office park to suburban sanctuary.
Sand, so ubiquitous across Earth, is a marker of time. Mirage creates an experience of being enveloped by Earth’s sublime spaces. Each piece of glass is a portal to otherworldly landscapes. The artwork is dreamlike: the colors are contemplative, and the glass has a natural radiance, creating infinite reflections. Our hope is that Mirage creates a sensory experience that will ignite the imagination, connect visitors to the vastness of the Earth, and its precious wilderness.
Katie Paterson
Apple Battersea
A new Apple Store is opening at Battersea Power Station in London. It’ll become Apple’s 40th store in the United Kingdom. This location is particularly notable because it’s also home to Apple’s new, Foster + Partners-designed UK offices. In my mind, that makes Apple Battersea a tiny bit like a UK company store (minus the exclusive merch). Battersea Power Station is a sprawling, decommissioned industrial facility that was recently redeveloped with retail, restaurants, offices, and apartments. The Apple Store is part of the public mall and not directly attached to Apple’s offices.
Thanks to some great photos by Aled Samuel, I spotted this special message written on one brick of the mural:
Recognise that ‘hello’? It’s our homage to Chicago, the first typeface created for the original Apple Macintosh in 1984. Back then, this friendly font welcomed users to their new computer. Today, it welcomes you to Apple Battersea.
New looks
New Avenue bays, Apple Watch risers, and iPad screen savers in stores now celebrate Apple Watch Pride Edition. The Avenue display is dimensional, with colorful geometric shapes raised above the surface and an inner portal with a single Apple Watch. Thanks to the broad rollout of new Watch merchandising across 2022, these displays are available in more stores than ever this year.
Apple Park Visitor Center offers a custom, 5-foot version of the Pride bay. The same display is available in the Apple Watch Studio area at Apple Tysons Corner, where it replaced the previous Pride bay after just two weeks.
Also appearing at the Visitor Center in time for WWDC is a new, compact essentials bay filled with accessories and inspired by the new design launched in Tysons. Apple has removed the original, 2017 custom Apple Music bay and its headphone heads in favor of the standard Apple Music display found at all Apple Stores.
This summer’s selection of merch includes a set of six lightly-tinted shirts with a familiar six-color stripe design. The Visitor Center is also offering a Nike Ted Lasso Collection for a limited time.
Apple Camp
Apple Camp is back for 2023. Beginning June 10, kids ages 8–12 can stop in for a special session called Design Your Dream Inventions on iPad.
Think like an inventor and follow the process from brainstorm to blueprint. Using iPad and Apple Pencil, we’ll work together to develop ideas that improve our neighborhoods. Then, we’ll turn them into trading card–style GIFs using Keynote and Freeform. Return visits are encouraged — let’s bring every idea to life.
Registration is open now.
Featured image
Apple Park Visitor Center
Photo via @visualicaasi.