Apple’s iconic glass cube has returned to its flagship Fifth Avenue store, new photos captured by Field Condition reveal. Last summer, the cube was removed, as part of renovation and expansion work that the tech giant was doing on its flagship store, and it wasn’t clear when the cube would return.

Luckily for its admirers, the cube has returned exactly as it was before its sabbatical—three full height glass panels per facade. Apple brought on Foster + Partners’ to redesign the store, which is now more than doubling its underground footprint from 32,000 square feet to 77,000 square feet.



In September last year, Apple announced that it was targeting a late 2018 reopening for the store, and Field Condition has now learned that the flagship will open sometime in November this year. Other new additions to the site include the tree plantings on either side of the cube. Apple’s glass cube on Fifth Avenue has been taken down, new photos obtained by Gothamist have revealed. It’s not yet clear how long it will be taken away from New Yorkers and tourists alike who have flocked to check out the iconic cube over the years, but it will supposedly make a return when renovations on the underground Apple store are complete.



Apple’s iconic glass cube on Fifth Avenue will be no more—well, at least for a little bit. The cube will be removed to allow renovation work to continue on the underground store as it preps for its expansion to 77,000 square feet of space, Crain’s has learned.

Curbed was tipped off by BuildingZoom to plans filed by Boston Properties—the owner of the building in front of which the Apple Store is located. The plan calls for the “full removal of glass cubical structure at Apple store entrance,” according to the city’s Department of Buildings. The agency issued the permit for the work on April 17.


The new Apple store in Milan - Italy
In January, Apple temporarily moved to F.A.O. Schwarz’s former flagship store on Fifth Avenue to allow construction to get underway at their underground space. The glass cube will likely return once the expansion work is complete, but this has yet to be confirmed. Curbed’s request for a comment from Apple was unreturned, and the company declined to issue a comment to Crain’s as well.

The city approved plans to remove the glass cube at the entrance of Apple's Fifth Avenue this month, filings with the Department of Buildings show. The permit was filed in mid-March by Boston Properties, which owns, along with Zhang Xin and the Safra family, the General Motors Building where the store is located.



The filing calls for a full removal of the cube, though it will likely be replaced after major renovations at the store, which is being expanded to 77,000 square feet—more than double its current size. Apple, declining to comment, referred Crain's to a statement it released in January, when it relocated to a temporary space formerly occupied by FAO Schwartz to accommodate construction. "We look forward to creating an incredible new Apple Fifth Avenue, where our customers will enjoy new services and experiences in a much larger space," the firm had said.