Nike New York Headquarters

© Floto+Warner[/caption]

From the architect. Nike is in a New York state of mind upon completion of their new colossal office space in Midtown. WeShouldDoItAll (WSDIA) serves as creatives on environmental graphics.
© Floto+Warner[/caption]

New York City is raw, never finished, and constantly reinventing itself. Nike is innovation, with an unrelenting drive to exceed expectations and inspire all athletes. So what do New York City and Nike have in common? Both are bold, vibrant and constantly breaking new ground. The connection is now further entrenched with Nike’s East Coast headquarters complete.

© Floto+Warner[/caption]

The six floor 150,000 square foot space includes a massive indoor basketball court, varied workspaces, a hand-tagged food truck, VIP and workout spaces, a Nike heritage inspired VW van, and a 90-foot long sedum planted Swoosh on the rooftop terrace.

© Floto+Warner[/caption]

The main directive—architecturally and graphically—was to highlight the synergy between New York City and Nike, by examining sport themed floors through the lens of NYC. The direction is manifested through materials, imagery, illustration, custom typography and space.

[caption id="attachment_1060" align="aligncenter" width="655"] © Floto+Warner[/caption]

Nike’s Workplace Design + Connectivity (WD+C) team partnered with STUDIOS Architecture to complete the architecture, while Michael Spoljaric (Senior Creative Director, Nike Global Basketball) worked closely with long-time collaborators WeShouldDoItAll (WSDIA) and a roster of talents to implement all environmental branding components in the space.

[caption id="attachment_1061" align="aligncenter" width="1460"] © Floto+Warner[/caption]


Bleachers Details and Plans

Working closely with Spoljaric for over a year, WSDIA designed the indoor basketball court bleachers, all wayfinding and signage—featuring a custom typeface made exclusively for space—and numerous distinct branding moments.

© Floto+Warner[/caption]

Notable pieces include: a 30 foot tall bark wall that nods to Nike’s Oregon roots; custom handmade rugs in various spaces, one of which—in the VIP Jeter Lounge—features all Yankees’ championship years; floor patterns derived from court lines and NYC’s bridges spill into the VIP Showrooms; custom running and basketball inspired CNC milled wall tiles; conference room ceiling tiles resembling shoe soles; a Michael Jordan mosaic tile wall; custom perforated locker patterns; and the art direction and curation of all illustration and photography for meeting booths.

© Floto+Warner[/caption]

• 
  

  Design firm

  
  
  WSDIA | WeShouldDoItAll


• 
  

  Location

  
  
  855 6th Ave, New York, NY 10001, USA


• 
  

  Lead Architect

  
  
  STUDIOS Architecture


• 
  

  Area

  
  
  150000.0 ft2


• 
  

  Project Year

  
  
  2017


• 
  

  Photographs

  
  
  Floto+Warner

Metal Rainbow-Zhongshu Bookstore in Suzhou

 

[caption id="attachment_1044" align="aligncenter" width="1434"] © HU Yijie[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1045" align="aligncenter" width="1582"] © CreatAR (AI Qing, MAO Yingchen, SHI Kaichen)[/caption]

From the architect. The new bookstore is divided into four main zones and several subdivided zones. Aiming to create a colorful new world by using symbolism, the architect gave a unique character to each zone: The Sanctuary of Crystal for new arrivals; The Cave of Fireflies for recommendations; The Xanadu of Rainbows for reading room; The Castle of Innocence for children books.

[caption id="attachment_1046" align="aligncenter" width="1425"] Axonometric[/caption]

The Sanctuary of Crystal

As an entrance, ‘The Sanctuary of Crystal’ is a space full of books and nothing else. The latest arrivals were arranged on the pre-fabricated transparent acrylic shelves, outstanding the presence of the books. Using glass bricks, mirrors and acrylic, ‘The Sanctuary of Crystal’ is a shining white space, luring customers into the heart of the store.

The Cave of Fireflies

After the whiteness, ‘The Cave of Fireflies’ is a darker tunnel connecting the main hall and the entrance. Customers will pick books here and follow the guide of optic fibers into the main reading area.

[caption id="attachment_1047" align="aligncenter" width="1028"] © HU Yijie[/caption]

The Xanadu of Rainbows

After a relatively narrow space, ‘The Xanadu of Rainbows’ is a large and open space. Thanks to the large windows, natural lights can pour inside. Being the most prominent space, ‘The Xanadu of Rainbows’ provides a variety of experience. Taking advantages of different heights of shelves, steps, and tables, the architect creates a hyper architecturized and abstracted landscape of cliffs, valleys, islands, rapids, and oases. There are also thin perforated aluminum sheets in gradient colors simulated as rainbows installed in the bookstore. These 1cm thin panels divides zones of different functions at the same time bringing a mysterious and vague atmosphere to the space. These moves shape a Xanadu from ancient Chinese philosophy.

[caption id="attachment_1048" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] © HU Yijie[/caption]

The Castle of Innocence

At the very end of ‘the Xanadu of Rainbows’, the space surrounded by white ETFE walls is the children books area. With the help of translucent ETFE, the Castle of Innocence is an inner world inside the bookstore. Many complex installments were added in the space, building a world where children can interact with each other and with the bookstore itself.

[caption id="attachment_1049" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] © HU Yijie[/caption]

The perforated aluminum sheets shaped of windows play a huge part in the project. When half of the sheets were perforated, they lost the visual quality of shining metals. When multiple panels of different sizes and colors were fixed together, a sense of veil is created. This ambiguous and vague effects gave qualities to the bookstore. The distance between each set of panels is also of great importance. Some gaps between the panels are larger than others, thus creating spaces of different experiences. Again, with the almost translucent quality of the panels, the boundaries between each individual space is weakened. With the use of lights, the colorful sheets can also be seen from outside, making the bookstore an inviting destination.

[caption id="attachment_1050" align="aligncenter" width="1471"] © HU Yijie[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1051" align="aligncenter" width="732"] © HU Yijie[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1052" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Diagram[/caption]

 

• 
  

  Architects

  
  
  Wutopia Lab


• 
  

  Location

  
  
  Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China


• 
  

  Chief Architect

  
  
  Yu Ting


• 
  

  Project Architect

  
  
  Shuojiong Zhang


• 
  

  Area

  
  
  1380.0 m2


• 
  

  Project Year

  
  
  2017


• 
  

  Photographs

  
  
  HU Yijie, CreatAR (AI Qing, MAO Yingchen, SHI Kaichen)

[Google_Maps_WD id=36 map=19]

 

Art Foundation Transforming India's Urban Landscape

[caption id="attachment_1001" align="aligncenter" width="1497"] The Origin of the World by Borondo, Lodhi Colony, Delhi[/caption]

Last month, ArchDaily had an opportunity to speak with Akshat Nauriyal, Content Director at Delhi-based non-profit St+Art India Foundation which aims to do exactly what its name suggests—to embed art in streets. The organization’s recent work in the Indian metropolises of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, has resulted in a popular reclamation of the cities’ civic spaces and a simultaneous transformation of their urban fabric. Primarily working within residential neighborhoods—they are touted with the creation of the country’s first public art district in Lodhi Colony, Delhi—the foundation has also collaborated with metro-rail corporations to enliven transit-spaces. While St+Art India’s experiments are evidently rooted in social activism and urban design, they mark a significant moment in the historic timeline of the application of street art in cities: the initiative involves what it believes to be a first-of-its-kind engagement between street artists and the government.

[caption id="attachment_1002" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Unusual Usual by Do and Khatra, Hyderabad[/caption]

Suneet Zishan Langar: Could you explain the origins of St+Art India? What are your primary objectives?

Akshat Nauriyal: Essentially, we started around 2014, with twin intents: to make public spaces more vibrant and interactive for the people who use them the most, and to make art more democratic as a medium. We have five co-founders and all of us come from very different backgrounds. I’m a filmmaker and visual artist and I have previously worked documenting the city’s emerging sub-cultures. Hanif Kureshi is an artist who has been actively involved in the street art community. Meanwhile, Arjun Bahl and Thanish Thomas have a background in events and logistics and Giulia Ambrogi worked as a curator. We all got in touch around the time of the Extension Khirkee street art festival when we found we were all in six degrees of separation wanting to do the same thing, and that’s how our first project came about in Shahpur Jat.

[caption id="attachment_1003" align="aligncenter" width="1236"] Artwork by Ranjit Dhaiya, Shahpur Jat, Delhi[/caption]

SZL: Why did you choose the Shahpur Jat neighborhood?

AN: Shahpur Jat provided us a very interesting space for an art intervention since we wanted to work in a high-density area which was also navigable by foot. Moreover, it is an urban village that was rapidly changing. Back in the day, it used to be predominantly inhabited by the Jat community, but due to cheap rents and its proximity to South Delhi, its peripheral areas were becoming really gentrified. So while a lot of posh boutiques and cafés had opened up on the perimeter, on the inside it was still primarily residential with small hole-in-the-wall shops.

[caption id="attachment_1004" align="aligncenter" width="1551"] Artwork by Harsh Raman, Shahpur Jat, Delhi[/caption]

SZL: How did you obtain permissions to install artwork on walls?

AN: We sought permissions in two ways: bottom up and top down. Bottom up would mean that we went door-to-door and asked residents to permit us to paint on their walls. Some of them said no, some of them said yes, but that’s how it began. The top down approach meant that we went to authorities such as the MCD [Municipal Corporation of Delhi] and the CPWD [Central Public Works Department] or other faculties that had the rights or the ownership to the places.

https://youtu.be/cDVPsChKJrM

Towards the end, we did this mural on the Delhi Police Headquarters, a huge portrait of Mahatma Gandhi by German artist Hendrik Beikirch and Indian artist Anpu. That was a huge moment for us in the sense that, in the historical timeline of street art in the world, graffiti if not street art has always had negative connotations of vandalism. So when we’re having street artists paint a 158-foot mural on the façade of a governmental building, that moment holds immense significance not just for the scale of work, but also for its larger relevance. This marked a first-of-its-kind engagement with the government.

[caption id="attachment_1005" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] The Painted Revolution by Tyler, Delhi[/caption]

SZL: Where do you primarily obtain funding from?

AN: We work with a lot of cultural institutions, consulates or embassies to bring artists and fund projects. So essentially, most of our projects are funded by some consulate. We work with almost 20 now such as Germany, Poland, Singapore, and Switzerland. Another major supporter is Asian Paints. A lot of the work we do requires huge infrastructure and a lot of paint, so in that sense Asian paints was a very logical match for us.

[caption id="attachment_1006" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] There is Nowhere to Go but Everywhere by Hendrik Beikirch, Delhi[/caption]

SZL: How do you choose the artists that you collaborate with? Explain your work process.

AN: We first synthesize the project, and then work backward to see who’s the best fit for the kind of curation we’re doing. We seek very meaningful partnerships with different organizations, whether it’s an NGO or a cultural institution, or brands and corporates for that matter. Once we finalize the artist, we primarily work with them and the style that they use.

[caption id="attachment_1007" align="aligncenter" width="1534"] The Lotus by Suiko, Lodhi Colony, Delhi[/caption]

SZL: Why do you believe that democratization of art is important?

AN: We feel that art, at least the way it exists as an industry, has become marginalized only to a very small section of society, almost a novelty of the rich and the elite. We wanted to somehow break out of the regular gallery structure, because if you see the kind of footfall museums receive, it’s maybe a few hundred in a month, and that’s a high estimate. But if you flip that and look at public spaces as places to experience art, then you have thousands of people crossing these areas every day, and just in terms of the reach that the artwork can have, it's tremendous, exponentially larger than what it can have in a closed environment.

[caption id="attachment_1008" align="aligncenter" width="667"] Artwork by Sergio, Shahpur Jat, Delhi[/caption]

SZL: How do you think this affects a community or a people?

AN: I think the impact is very multi-faceted and layered. Different places react differently. So we’ve seen in our experience that if we’re working in a neighborhood, it leads to an increased sense of community pride. And it is really endearing to see people take to their own neighborhoods, to feel ownership of their surroundings. For example, in Shahpur Jat, one of the first walls that we painted was this mural of a cat by Indian artist Anpu and it quickly became a locally recognized landmark. People started giving directions based on its location. The people who lived in that building became very well known in the community which led to more people approaching us to paint their walls.

[caption id="attachment_1009" align="aligncenter" width="827"] Cat mural by Anpu, Shahpur Jat, Delhi[/caption]

SZL: The Lodhi Public Art District in Delhi is undoubtedly your largest urban intervention. What was the idea behind the selection of Lodhi Colony? Also, how do you think your work has altered the structure and meaning of the neighborhood?

[caption id="attachment_1011" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Vishvaroopa by Inkbrushnme, Lodhi Colony, Delhi[/caption]

AN: Yes, there was a very clear intent in picking Lodhi Colony. We wanted to create multiple artworks in the form of an open walkthrough gallery where people could just come and spend a few hours a day and have a good time exploring the city. So Lodhi was a natural choice. It is one of the rare places in Delhi which is pedestrian-friendly. It’s also well organized in the sense that it’s easily navigable, and it has symmetrical blocks created in a localized typology. The façades that it presented were beautiful, large and symmetric, which meant that almost every artist got a similar canvas to play with, and hence, there is a semblance of symmetry to the entire project. Moreover, its location in South Delhi and the fact that it is a residential colony were other key points. As a government-owned residential colony, it didn’t face any threat of being gentrified, so we knew that the artwork would stay on.

[caption id="attachment_1012" align="aligncenter" width="1479"] 3 Dead Dahlias by Amitabh Kumar, Lodhi Colony, Delhi[/caption]

In terms of its impact, we witnessed that many people started feeling pride that the neighborhood had become a place to visit on the city’s tourist map. Now when you go to Lodhi, there’s something happening on the streets all the time, whether it’s a photo shoot, or a music video, or ordinary people just having a jolly time. We did a wall in collaboration with the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan [Clean IndiaMission] and I remember speaking to one person who told me about a man who had stopped his car and was about to urinate on a wall when a few local people strongly objected saying, “someone’s taken the effort of painting this beautiful thing. Don’t dirty it, just go to a public toilet.” So the impact could be simple, maybe it just makes you feel better or it distracts you or it makes you think, but it could also have deeper meanings of community building or keeping the neighborhood clean.

[caption id="attachment_1013" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Swachh Bharat Mural, Lodhi Colony, Delhi[/caption]

SZL: How do you make sure your artwork remains contextual to a neighborhood’s unique identity?

AN: It would be incorrect on my part to say that every project we do is contextual. But that stems from the fact that we work hand-in-glove with artists. So there are many artists that work with themes that are not necessarily contextual. Artwork that is aesthetically pleasing, so to speak, and that is one approach to street art. Another approach is to be highly contextual and socially relevant. I’d say that we have a balance of both. We’re very aware of the fact that using public space is a responsibility and we try to navigate that in the best manner possible.

[caption id="attachment_1014" align="aligncenter" width="1498"] Artwork by Niels Shoe Meulman, Lodhi Colony, Delhi[/caption]

But at the same time, there are pieces like the one done by Shilo. She worked with an NGO called Sewing New Futures, which works in Najafgarh, Delhi, an area where a lot of women are forced into prostitution by their families. The organization works with these women to empower them with alternative sources of livelihood. Shilo worked with the young girls there, and their stories became the inspiration behind the project.

[caption id="attachment_1015" align="aligncenter" width="960"] From Your Strength I Weave Beauty by Shilo Shiv Suleman, Lodhi Colony, Delhi[/caption]

[The mural “From your Strength, I Weave Beauty” by Shilo Shiv Suleman identifies two women from the community. An older woman steps out of the mist on the left side; her struggle has carved lines into her face as she navigates the night inside her. On the other side, her daughter pulls this fog out of the dark sky and weaves it into alchemical threads of gold, creating a new future for them both.]

Toronto Modular Timber Tower Designed by Penda

[caption id="attachment_992" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Courtesy of Penda[/caption]

Penda, collaborating with wood consultants from CLT-brand Tmber, has unveiled the design of ‘Tree Tower Toronto,’ an 18-story timber-framed mixed-use residential skyscraper for Canada’s largest city. Drawing inspiration from the distinctly Canadian traditional modular construction, including Moshe Safdie’s iconic Habitat 67, the tower is envisioned as a new model of sustainable high-rise architecture that can establish a reconnect urban areas to nature and natural materials.

[caption id="attachment_993" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] 3D Constructed[/caption]

“Our cities are a assembly of steel, concrete and glass. If you walk through the city and suddenly see a tower made of wood and plants, it will create an interesting contrast. The warm, natural appearance of wood and the plants growing on its facade bring the building to life and that could be a model for environmental friendly developments and sustainable extensions of our urban landscape,” states Chris Precht, partner at penda.

The ‘Tree Tower Toronto’ will continue Canada’s pioneering efforts in timber-framed tall building construction, taking advantage of the significant credits (10-20% of total funding) made available by the Canadian government for projects exceeding certain carbon footprint standards.

[caption id="attachment_994" align="aligncenter" width="887"] Courtesy of Penda[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_995" align="aligncenter" width="738"] Courtesy of Penda[/caption]

The tower will reach a height of 62 meters (203 feet) and will comprise over 5,000 square meters (53,800 square feet). The majority of the tower (4,500 square meters) will house residential units, while 550 square meters (5,920 square feet) will be dedicated to public areas including a cafe, a daycare center and community workshops.

Pre-fabricated CLT panels will be assembled off-site and craned into place once the foundation and base core is set. This construction method will allow the building to be built quicker, quiter and with reduced waste than traditional construction techniques. Minor concrete and steel-elements will support the CLT panels as necessary, but even those pieces have been designed with the building’s life cycle in mind.

“Elements of a building like wires and copper will be a scarce resources in future. To demolish a tower in an conventional way, buries most valuable elements of a building. To think about down-constructing a tower secures for a sustainable life-cycle of a building,” explains Dayong Sun of penda.

[caption id="attachment_996" align="aligncenter" width="808"] Courtesy of Penda[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_997" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Courtesy of Penda[/caption]

Large outdoor terraces will support large vegetation systems capable of supporting food gardens, shrubbery and even trees, all of which will help to passively cool the building and offer privacy to teach of the units. By placing trees directly adjacent to the structural wood panels, a kind of symbolic symbiosis of nature and built environment can be observed.

‘This connection helps further to develop a true ecological high-rise, supplies its residents with fresher air and provides a lower carbon footprint,” said Tmber CEO Mark Stein. “The extensive use of wood will set ambitious sustainability targets and will be a catalyst for similar developments in Canada.”

News via Penda.

[caption id="attachment_998" align="aligncenter" width="727"] Courtesy of Penda[/caption]

BIG's Cactus Towers in Copenhagen an Urban IKEA

[caption id="attachment_982" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Courtesy of BIG[/caption]

A new project in central Copenhagen will see two Danish practices—Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Dorte Mandrup Architects—create a new urban IKEA store, a budget hotel, and housing linked together by green space. Set to open in 2019, the area—which sits adjacent to Kalvebod Brygge, close to the railway lines that pass through the city core—will be master-planned by Dorte Mandrup while two striking high-rise residential towers, dubbed "Cacti", will be designed by BIG.

[caption id="attachment_983" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Courtesy of Dorte Mandrup Architects[/caption]

IKEA's urban foray, which will be without parking for cars, is based on the premise that customers will buy smaller objects and transport them home by bicycle.

[caption id="attachment_984" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Courtesy of Dorte Mandrup Architects[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_985" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Courtesy of Dorte Mandrup Architects[/caption]

The site will also host a low-price hotel designed by Dorte Mandrup with 1,250 rooms spread across two volumes which will, if completed to plan, be the largest hotel in the Nordic region.

[caption id="attachment_986" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Courtesy of Dorte Mandrup Architects[/caption]

BIG's hotel towers, which will be defined by their hexagonal cores, will feature 500 "youth rooms" and stand as the practice's first residential project in the Danish capital since those of Ørestad.

[caption id="attachment_987" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Courtesy of BIG[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_988" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Courtesy of BIG[/caption]

Project start: 2017

Completion due: 2019

Architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Dorte Mandrup Architects

Location :  Copenhagen,Denmark