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Architecture And Design
National

The secret rooms inside Apple stores

The “boardrooms,” as they are known, are closed to the public

Architect Stefan Behling (right) and Senior Director for Apple Retail and Design Chris Braithwaite talk about the Board Room part of Apple Carnegie Library in Washington, DC (Credit: Getty Images)
Architect Stefan Behling (right) and Senior Director for Apple Retail and Design Chris Braithwaite talk about the Board Room, as part of Apple Carnegie Library in Washington, DC (Credit: Getty Images)

Millions of people flock to Apple stores every day, and most are familiar with the stores’ signature layout and aesthetic. What’s lesser known, though, is that many of these stores contain a private “boardroom,” complete with carefully curated furniture from some of the world’s top designers.

The boardroom concept was announced by Apple’s former Retail SVP Angela Ahrendts in May 2016. Today, there are about three dozen stores around the world that were either built with a boardroom or remodeled to include one.

Closed to the public, the spaces are mainly used for private events, business meetings and Apple sessions, 9to5mac reports.

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The rooms feature a mix of designer pieces and custom furniture. According to 9to5mac, which attempted to catalogue the rooms based on consultations with designers and furniture suppliers, some staples include a set of Maruni’s “Hiroshima” armchairs, as well as a choice of lamps: either the Snoopy Table Lamp in black (Achille Castiglioni), or the Atollo glass by Vico Magistretti.

In keeping with the rooms’ fresh, minimalist appearance, many feature planters with white orchids, and a small selection of vases and accessories.

The boardroom inside Apple’s Upper East Side location, which opened in 2015 in a former U.S. & Mortgage Trust, is the most unique, according to 9to5mac, because it still contains the bank’s original vault. [9to5mac] — Sylvia Varnham O’Regan