Contract - July/August 2011 - (Page 120)

support channel letters with the name and familiar swoosh logo in Nike’s trademark orange. The crisp, layered geometry of the two facades is as great an asset to the street as it is to the brand, drawing attention as effectively as Apple’s minimalist storefronts. Changing graphic displays animate the street-level windows. The interior amplifies the material language of the front of the building. Recalling the oblong form of a running track, curved lines were stenciled in black dye onto the gray concrete floor. The metal ceiling deck, cut away at the center to provide a visual link to the upper level, and the exposed service ducts are all painted matte black. Two steelframed vertical slabs that rise through the center void to the top of the store are faced in wooden boards, lettered and numbered to evoke bleachers. The boards serve as backdrops for an array of athletic shoes and basketballs in metal hoops, and the short sides of these vertical slabs are clad in black metal ornamented with graphics of sports figures in action. Allusions to athletics A number of allusions are woven into this expansive store. The staircase across from the entry has a welded wire mesh balustrade and a back wall of white tiles like those in gym showers. A stylized portrait— composed of sports gear painted matte black—of Bill Bowerman, the University of Oregon track coach who pioneered innovative athletic shoes and co-founded Nike, is accompanied by his motivational mantra, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” Green benches resemble stacked wrestling mats secured with canvas straps. Elegant black steel racks and display tables alternate with metal foot lockers. A large video screen on the far wall draws attention to Nike’s key product, the men’s and women’s athletic shoes. The shoes are mounted in rows on a black fiberglass wall embossed with geometrical relief patterns that recall Nike’s humble origins when Bowerman used a waffle iron to impress a non-skid surface on a running shoe’s sole. Gym lighting is evoked in the wire mesh that screens the hanging lamps. Pin spots highlight the displays, which jump out from the dark and monochromatic backdrops. Shoppers can customize shoes and tee shirts at 120 contract july/august 2011 www.contractdesign.com http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - July/August 2011

Contract - July/August 2011
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Product Focus: Change it Up
Product Focus: Angling for Attention
Product Focus: (Good) Writing on the Wall
Product Focus: Come Together
Best of NeoCon® 2011
Making a Marc
Becoming Kate
Ray of Light
True Blue
Nature Speaks
A New Home
Bloomie's New Edition
Shring to Fitness
Practice: Smaller, Sustainable Retail
Trends: Retail Retrofit
Designers Select: Fabrics
Sources
Ad Index
Perspectives

Contract - July/August 2011