Apple's new Barcelona store features unique logo

The new Apple Store is set to open in Barcelona Centre's most expensive commercial street, Passeig de Gracia. AppleInsider reader Pere sent a picture of the under-construction storefront on Monday, and noted that Apple's latest retail creation is near Casa Batllo and Casa Mila, which are famous creations by renowned Spanish Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.

Gaudi's buildings were particularly known for their use of stained glass, which the multi-colored Apple logo at the new store acknowledges. A sign at the under-construction storefront notes that the new Apple Store will be "custom made to fit Barcelona."

The new store on Passeig de Gracia will be Apple's second retail location in Barcelona. The first Barcelona store opened in the La Maquinista shopping district located in the outskirts of the city in 2010.

Apple often goes out of its way to match the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood with its retail stores, and will frequently set up shop in historical buildings while maintaining much of the look and feel of the original structure.

Plans for the Apple Store on Barcelona's Passeig de Gracia have been in the works since May of 2010. The new store is located in a 32,000-square-foot five-story building near the Mandarin Oriental hotel

The building dates back to the late 1800s, with Apple set to occupy a corner space that overlooks Catalunya Plaza. Earlier reports, dug up by ifoAppleStore, indicated that Apple had signed a 10-year lease for 27,000 square feet in space, including the basement and ground floor, for $5.1 million a year.