IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2017 - 28

Nike NYHQ, by Nike's Workplace
Design + Connectivity

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA
THE

Nike-it's one of the most devastatingly effective
brands in the world. And there's no shortage of
the Nike vibe in its new East Coast headquarters,
dubbed NYHQ.
There's the gargantuan version of the swoosh
composed of Sedum plants splashed across the
rooftop. And inside, the Nike ethos only gets
stronger. Home to the company's Workplace
Design + Connectivity (WD+C) team, the
approximately 150,000-square-foot (13,935-squaremeter) space-designed in partnership with
Studios Architecture-features a 4,000-squarefoot (372-square-meter) basketball court for events
and bleacher-style stairs. An orange Volkswagen
bus outfitted with a conference room table
pays homage to the original van from which the
founders would distribute Nike shoes at track
meets in the company's early days.
As with Nike's products, the materials
incorporated throughout the design embody
one of the company's key tenets: "Sustainability
is at the core of the Nike brand," says Matthew
Kneller, Nike's director of global corporate
communications. Conference room ceilings

feature acoustic tiles made from old Nike
footwear designs, created in partnership
FACTOR
with consumer goods upcycling company
Creates a
Miniwiz. And some of the office's large
global hub with
wooden benches are made from reformed
the right mix of
utility poles, Kneller says.
corporate and
But the space isn't all Nike, all the time.
local identity
It also celebrates the city the sportswear giant
now calls home. According to Kneller, the idea
was to highlight New York City's biggest sports
moments through graphics, images, illustrations,
color, typography, and space. "With this move,
we wanted to further Nike's already deep roots
in NYC," he says. "At Nike NYHQ, we're better
equipped to connect with our most influential
consumers, in the most influential city. It serves as
the pinnacle expression of the brand in a global city."
To further the building's New York state of
mind, Nike turned to several local designers and
artists, including Brooklyn-based furniture maker
UHURU Design and Harlem-based artist Micah
NYC, who created a tiled wall of drawings inspired
by local sports hubs like the former West Fourth
Street basketball courts.

Sissi's Wonderland Library
SHANGHAI, CHINA

Sissi's
Wonderland
Library was
designed by
Muxin Studio.

perspective

When Muxin Studio started drafting plans for a new children's library in
Shanghai, the designers had one overarching goal: "We just wanted to make
it like a big toy," says Leo Sun, designer, Muxin Studio, Shanghai.
Muxin installed zigzagging ramps and miniature archways for children
to crawl through, added green grasslike carpeting, and built bookshelves
that double as chairs-perfect for plopping down with a book after a game
of hide-and-seek. And like any well-designed toy, Sissi's Wonderland is
safe for little ones. Instead of standard rows of ceiling-height bookshelves
and shadowy corners, Sissi's sports circular rooms, rounded archways, and
curvilinear walls and ceilings.
The space skips what Sun calls the "flamboyant
decoration and superficial embellishments"
THE
typically found in spaces designed for children.
Sissi's, she says, is more sophisticated, with
FACTOR
bright white walls, warm wood shelves, and
Makes reading
an inky black ceiling that's reminiscent of
fun with an
a planetarium. Even with that pared-down
unexpected
palette, Sissi's Wonderland is meant for play
sophisticated
includes reading.
design

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2017