Apple has filed a patent application seeking ownership of the design of the massive, elaborate glass cylinder that serves as the entrance to its megastore in Shanghai, China.

The store, which opened in mid-2010, is similar to Apple's landmark Fifth Avenue store in New York City, in that the entrance to the underground location is marked by a glass structure on the surface. But unlike the iconic cube found in New York, Apple's Shanghai store features a glass cylinder that is 12 meters tall.

The design of the structure is detailed in a newly published patent application discovered by AppleInsider, entitled "Glass Building Panel and Building Made Therefrom." The filing describes a number of curved glass panels arranged to form the cylindrical shape found with the final product. 

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The recovery is underway. This was the general consensus among experts participating in a recent webinar that focused on the economy and the construction market. "We have seen a steep decline in nonresidential construction," said Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects (AIA). "We seem to be at the beginning of a recovery now and the best indicator of that that we have is billing at architecture firms has been growing in recent months."

Baker was one of several leading economists who took a look at the nonresidential construction market and where it is headed during a webinar sponsored by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The webinar, titled "A Construction Recovery at Last-but How Long and How Strong?," also featured Ken Simonson, chief economist for the AGC, and Bernard Markstein, chief economist for Reed Construction Data.

In making his predictions, Baker compared today's market to that of 30 years ago. "We're currently at the lowest levels of construction in 30 years, even though the economy's a lot larger than it was 30 years ago and the population's a lot larger than it was 30 years ago," he said. "We clearly have a lot of catch-up to do in terms of where we should be."

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Source:  usgnn
 

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Respond to Emails and Phone Calls

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Honor Appointments

There is nothing quite as frustrating for a customer than scheduling an appointment with a business or service provider only to be kept waiting. Or worse yet, to be stood up. Remember, customers may need to take time off work or juggle other appointments to meet with you. If you are detained, plan to be no more than five minutes late and call to let the customer know you are on your way. Reschedule when necessary, but do so with 24 hours notice so the disruption to the customer's schedule is minimized. Keep appointment rescheduling to a minimum and make sure the client has a consistent contact when scheduling appointments.  Read more

Source:  www.manta.com