NikeTown New York City
Two Buildings in One: Old New York Meets the FutureNEW YORK, Oct. 31 -- After eight years of research,
planning, design and construction, NIKE will open its most
ambitious NikeTown store ever on Friday, November 1, 1996 at 10
a.m. Located on 57th Street, between 5th and Madison Avenues,
the flagship NikeTown store is a completely new concept and
design for New York, blending the look and feel of an early 20th
Century Manhattan school gymnasium, P.S. 6453, with an
innovative, futuristic retail structure."This is a store for New Yorkers and for athletes around the
world, a tribute to the timeless spirit of sports," said NIKE
founder and CEO Philip H. Knight. "We wanted to combine the
city's passion for sports with new ideas about retail design."Conceived and built as a building within a building -- a "ship
in a bottle" -- the exterior building (the "bottle") is
reminiscent of a classic New York school gymnasium. Inside,
NIKE has built a completely free-standing, modern second
building (the "ship") that houses five retail floors and
includes 66,520-square-feet of retail selling space. NikeTowns
show the breadth of NIKE's footwear, apparel and accessory lines
like no other retailer can.The two buildings come together in a central, open atrium where
the store goes through an architectural metamorphosis. Every
twenty minutes, through interactive architecture, the store
interior "morphs"-- changing from a retail space to an
inspirational/educational story-telling space. During the day,
a screen descends over the front arched window and atrium
skylight to dim the interior lighting. Skybox windows facing
the 36'x 22' media screen automatically open and one of five,
three-minute NIKE films are shown. A NIKE clock, inspired by
sports scoreboards, counts down to the next film."We looked to classical examples of historic buildings with
contemporary interiors to reflect the contrasts of NIKE's sports
heritage and product innovation," explains Gordon Thompson, NIKE
Vice President of Design who, with Image Design Creative
Director John Hoke, led the NIKE team that conceived the store
design.Along with innovative NIKE sports products, NikeTown New York
City features sports archives and memorabilia ranging from eight
of Carl Lewis' nine Olympic gold medals to the New York Knicks'
1973 Walter Brown NBA Championship Trophy. The store is also
premiering a host of new NIKE interactive media displays and a
new digital footwear sizing system, NGAGE. A huge flipper board
gives continual, up-to-the-minute sports scores from around the
world. Throughout the day, video monitors show live satellite
broadcasts of sporting events.The store is expected to be a central meeting point for local
athletes seeking to get involved in grassroots sports clubs,
local events and clinics. NikeTown New York City will be home to
athletes, and home for first-rate customer care and the best
information about the function and benefits of NIKE sports
footwear, apparel and accessories.NIKE, Inc., based in Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading
designer and marketer of authentic athletic footwear, apparel
and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness
activities. Wholly owned NIKE subsidiaries include Bauer
Sports, the world's leading manufacturer of hockey equipment;
Cole Haan, which markets a line of high-quality men's and
women's dress and casual shoes; and Sports Specialties, which
markets a full line of licensed headwear.
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