Last month, Apple submitted plans to relocate its flagship San Francisco retail store three blocks north, putting the new store directly on Union Square, the heart of the city's high-end shopping district.
Despite initial praise for the project from city officials, Apple's proposal rapidly drew criticism for a number of its features, including an 80-foot-long blank wall along Stockton Street and the apparent removal of a sculptural fountain currently located at the entrance stairway to a public plaza.
The San Francisco Chronicle now reports that the city's Planning Department has issued its preliminary project assessment (PDF) on Apple's proposal, indicating that it would like to see a number of changes to the project.
There's too much glass on Post Street and too much metal on Stockton. The plaza that would accompany it needs a friendlier entrance. Planners also want the project to include a circular bronze fountain by Ruth Asawa that is the centerpiece of the plaza now on the block.
Despite all this, the city's top planner said Thursday that he sees no reason Apple can't build a modernistic metal-and-glass box within the historic setting of the Union Square retail district.
The city's planners object to the uniform wall of glass along the store's main frontage on Post Street, suggesting that Apple should do more to break up the wall by including colors or textures or vertical design elements. The planners also suggest possibilities for improving the blank Stockton Street frontage, including adding windows or pulling back the storefront to allow for landscaping and perhaps public seating areas...
Source: Mac Rumours