Apple's brick and mortar stores have always had a different feel to them when compared to the other typical retail fare available.  Now, in a project developer's letter to city officials in Palo Alto, CA, they are looking to change the game again, according to AppleInsider.

"The proposed store is a new prototype for the applicant," stated the memo.  "Fully half the function of the store serves to provide education and service to business as well as customer patrons in addition to product sales.  The store is a commons for the applicant's community to gather."

The proposal that was approved 3-0 by the Palo Alto architectural review board described a building entirely transparent at ground level with trees growing inside.  Skylights would then allow natural lighting in the store, and also allow the trees to grow.  Although Apple had not been mentioned in conjunction with the project, and like usual declined to comment, sources stated that the plans were for a new Apple Store.

"(The glass storefront) dissolves the boundary that traditional store facades create," the memo continued.  "By not breaking the horizontal ground plane of the sidewalk with opaque wall or landscape element, for example, the street is made part of the store's interior;  the pedestrian is in the store before entering it."

Bicycle and newspaper racks and a trash bin in front of the store will also be relocated to help create a cleaner aesthetic, perhaps as Apple continues with its already sound environmental efforts.

Apple would then close its existing Palo Alto store and move it to a new location at 340 University Ave.  The existing roof and facade would then reportedly be demolished to make way for the new 10,700 square foot store.