The poetic finish of fast

Owner & Hotel operator: Hotel Bjornson Architecture & Interior design: Ark-shelter Engineering office: Archekta Main structure: OSB - Kronospan Skeleton: KVH + BSH timber beam -Jafholz House envelope, foils and vapour barriers: Doerken Connector screws: Rothoblaas Ceiling infrared heating panels: Fouczech Furnishings: Prostoria; on design by Ark-shelter Kitchens: on design by Ark-shelter Lighting: Senk.design Insulated window glass, fences: Pilkington

Author: Manuela Di Mari Photo credits: BoysPlayNice

back in touch with nature and themselves,” say the architects. All the cabins have an exact orientation and one-sided view, and they consist of two adjacent independent apartment-modules. As desired, the two units, which normally function separately, can be connected through a specially designed sliding partition, which creates a large central space where two families can meet and socialize. Inside the cabins there is everything that is needed, no more, no less: a bedroom-living room, a children’s room, an entrance, and a bathroom. Two of the apartments serve as mirrored, detached modules with minor spatial changes, such a larger bathroom or an extra balcony, adding to the variety of options. The architects’ work also includes an extension of the restaurant and a wellness center, in addition to these cabins set in the midst of the forest, close to the ski slope but in total privacy and peace. The wellness center is made up of four Ark-shelter modules arranged to form a group of saunas, relaxation rooms and massage areas. Reinventing the way we live to connect with nature is the architects’ constant point of departure.

Olson Kundig captures the concept of speed and athleticism within Nike’s new LeBron James Innovation Center, where research and development are taken to their highest levels

“Our mission is what drives us to do everything possible to expand human potential.” Nike’s mission statement contains the inspiration and innovation that spurred Phil Knight to found this brand that has become the definition of an icon, which Nike, true to its nature, wants to bring to every athlete. These are the core principles behind the building of the new LeBron James Innovation Center inside the Nike World Headquarters, in Beaverton (Oregon). The building — named for the four-time NBA champion and four-time MVP with which Nike has a lifetime deal — brings together Nike’s innovation teams that had been spread over the 286 acres of the Nike Campus with the goal of fostering interconnections and the cross-pollination of ideas. design studios, offices and meeting spaces, prototyping laboratories, an internal research facility and even a 100-meter sloping outdoor track makes for a highly functional hub where the latest innovations in sports technology can be designed, built, tested and perfected. The project was designed by the Seattle-based studio Olson Kundig, which envisioned the space’s architecture (with its 700,000 sqf) as a rectangular volume soaring horizontally

to become a metaphor for the concept of speed. Tom Kundig, the firm’s Design Principal with Jim Olson explains, “The ‘big idea’ behind this building is Nike’s underlying agenda of fast. Athletics at all levels, and innovation in service of athletes, is about capturing speed, about going fast. The spiritual sense of the building reflects this functional basis as well as the poetic finish of fast.” This concept is expressed inside through a large central atrium, open across the four floors, removing physical barriers to facilitate collaboration, spontaneous meetings and co-working. A large staircase connects the floors up to the top one, all of which is the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL), which cantilevers out from the monolithic structure at 50 feet high and covers the main entrance. This makes visible the precision cement “waffle” pattern of the base, an engineering trick to eliminate structural noise and vibrations to facilitate accurate data collection while also referencing Nike’s history and how its waffle soles revolutionized running shoe performance. Straight from research to testing: the NSRL has a regulation basketball court, a track, a soccer field, and connects directly to the 100-meter outdoor track (with a gradient of 15.63%); it also has one of the world’s largest motion-capture installations (with 400 cameras), 97 force plates and body mapping equipment.

Owner: Nike Architecture & Interior design: Olson Kundig, Tom Kundig, Kirsten Ring Murray Furnishings: Arper, Athletic Seating, Magis, Winnebago; custom made furniture by Made-Studio & RAD; custom cabinetry designed by Olson Kundig and built by GC Environmental graphic led: Nike, in collaboration with Olson Kundig and Studio Matthews Graphics: Nike

Author: Veronica Orsi Photo credits: courtesy of Nike