all show?

On Friday I wandered to the Apple Store on Sydney's George Street. It is a reasonably stunning building that I am undedecided about. I do like Apple products, that much I know. For me they flirt dangerously with being too smug and wanky...but manage to stop just short by having the technical stones to back up the design. Maybe the building will prove to be the same, but I suspect not. It is all sleek and glass and chic but a bit, well, easy and maybe even cliched.

But my main issue surrounding it is not the building itself,rather the hordes of people who queued to get inside. Look people, it is just a large shop selling stuff that has been available elsewhere for ages! There are plenty of other open-airy-swank-wanky spaces in Sydney. Go take a look at the Hilton or the Deutsche Bank buildings. They're quite pleasing on the eye. Maybe people where wanting to be part of history, the opening of the first Apple store in the southern hemisphere? Or maybe they want a free t-shirt?

Maybe it is about the architecture

Apple Stores are not just about retailing - in fact, you have to look very hard to spot a cash register. And a big part of the experience is the architecture.

Because is certainly is not about the environment

The glass slabs come from Germany, the stone floor from Italy, the brushed stainless steel walls are from Japan, and the wooden tables are made from maple trees grown in Pennsylvania.

Suddenly I don't like it. Don't we have glass, stone, steel and wood here in Australia? Apple, you have just stepped over the wank-line.