In Milan the latest Foster + Partners-designed Apple Store features a dramatic water feature in an update on the traditional Italian piazza.
Sunk into the square, the steps down to the store form an amphitheatre with the curtain of water providing a backdrop.
The eight-metre high glass walls contain a water feature that was, according to architects, supposed to be an "immersive recreation" of running through a fountain as a child.

"The fountain is an expression of child-like excitement that speaks to each one of us," said Stefan Behling, head of studio at Foster + Partners.
"In its simplicity, it echoes the idea of walking into a big fountain without getting wet, and the joy of being alive."

Apple Piazza Liberty is located off the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, and is the tech giant's first Italian outpost in its new design style. "To work within one of Italy's historic piazzas is both a great responsibility and wonderful challenge," said Jony Ive, Apple's chief design officer.
"We combined two fundamental elements of the Italian piazza ? water and stone ? adding a glass portal that creates a multi-sensory experience as visitors enter the store through a cascading fountain that seems to envelop them."

Over 20 Gleditsia Sunburst trees have been planted around the square at street level and in planters in the sunken shop.
Beola Grigia, a grey stone quarried in Lombardy and used in much of Milan's architecture, has been used to cl...