The Observatory is Apple Park's picturesque new event space

The light coming from the roof looks great only imagine watching it move with the sun

While I haven't yet been in this venue I always hesitate about these Apple architectural projects.

As far as I can tell, there's a lot of -- how do I put this? -- outright dismissal/ignorance for decent acoustics.

A lot of Apple Stores have horrible acoustics and now I realize it's a major reason why I can't willingly stay in an Apple Store more than 10-15 minutes. Too many hard surfaces, too many sharp angles, almost no textiles. Visually a lot of these Apple spaces are striking but the acoustical properties in these locations are appalling.

Note that I feel the same way about a lot of non-Apple locations including some horrific places that were designed for performances. Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall -- home to the San Francisco Symphony -- debuted with heavily flawed acoustics. I'm not singling out Apple here, it's just that a lot of these sites with modern aesthetics are atrocious for sound. Davies Hall was notorious in that many of the symphony musicians couldn't hear some of their fellow musicians because of the terrible sound on stage.

After a couple of renovations, the acoustics at Davies Hall is now acceptable but it will never be a world-class venue for sound.

I've just been in too many buildings like Apple Stores or modern-ish performing arts centers that suck acoustically.

mpantone said:

While I haven't yet been in this venue I always hesitate about these Apple architectural projects.

As far as I can tell, there's a lot of -- how do I put this? -- outright dismissal/ignorance for decent acoustics.

A lot of Apple Stores have horrible acoustics and now I realize it's a major reason why I can't willingly stay in an Apple Store more than 10-15 minutes. Too many hard surfaces, too many sharp angles, almost no textiles. Visually a lot of these Apple spaces are striking but the acoustical properties in these locations are appalling.

Note that I feel the same way about a lot of non-Apple locations including some horrific places that were designed for performances. Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall -- home to the San Francisco Symphony -- debuted with heavily flawed acoustics. I'm not singling out Apple here, it's just that a lot of these sites with modern aesthetics are atrocious for sound. Davies Hall was notorious in that many of the symphony musicians couldn't hear some of their fellow musicians because of the terrible sound on stage.

After a couple of renovations, the acoustics at Davies Hall is now acceptable but it will never be a world-class venue for sound.

I've just been in too many buildings like Apple Stores or modern-ish performing arts centers that suck acoustically.

I agree with you. Visually they are great, but they are to be experienced in person, not in a photo/video, so a good designer should consider everything. It would be amazing if the could engineer a material or noise canceling technology that would allow the stores to be a more soothing experience.

Xed said:

mpantone said:

While I haven't yet been in this venue I always hesitate about these Apple architectural projects.

As far as I can tell, there's a lot of -- how do I put this? -- outright dismissal/ignorance for decent acoustics.

A lot of Apple Stores have horrible acoustics and now I realize it's a major reason why I can't willingly stay in an Apple Store more than 10-15 minutes. Too many hard surfaces, too many sharp angles, almost no textiles. Visually a lot of these Apple spaces are striking but the acoustical properties in these locations are appalling.

Note that I feel the same way about a lot of non-Apple locations including some horrific places that were designed for performances. Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall -- home to the San Francisco Symphony -- debuted with heavily flawed acoustics. I'm not singling out Apple here, it's just that a lot of these sites with modern aesthetics are atrocious for sound. Davies Hall was notorious in that many of the symphony musicians couldn't hear some of their fellow musicians because of the terrible sound on stage.

After a couple of renovations, the acoustics at Davies Hall is now acceptable but it will never be a world-class venue for sound.

I've just been in too many buildings like Apple Stores or modern-ish performing arts centers that suck acoustically.

I agree with you. Visually they are great, but they are to be experienced in person, not in a photo/video, so a good designer should consider everything. It would be amazing if the could engineer a material or noise canceling technology that would allow the stores to be a more soothing experience.

There are noise abating materials for architectural spaces. They're called textiles: carpet/rugs, drapes, wallpaper, and other fabric hangings. You can also use architectural elements and building design to break up large flat surfaces so the building isn't reflecting sound off of large walls. Architects have known about these for centuries. The acoustical shortcomings of these modern spaces is a step (or leap) back.

I'm really sorry to say this but the best way to (acoustically) experience an Apple Store is to put on a pair of AirPods Pro and enable active noise cancellation before stepping through the front door.

I really feel pity for the Apple Store workers who have to endure that acoustic hell for 8 hours. At some point companies will have to come to grips that a healthy workplace environment also includes the acoustics (much like air quality or workplace harassment). Hopefully it will not take Apple 20 years and a grassroots movement to understand this.

mpantone said:
Hopefully it will not take Apple 20 years and a grassroots movement to understand this.

You can also blame the unions at the unionized Apple stores if they don't decide to fight for it. If it's not important to the workers, then maybe it's not that important.