Nike Basketball Store by Specialnormal

Slam-Dunking Store is a Hit With Sports Fans

The interior of a Nike basketball specialty shop in Japan was completely custom-designed by Tokyo-based design studio Specialnormal. The creative team reinterpreted the elements of a conventional sports gym, with the half-court concept being a key part in the design – a goal and circular pendant light were suspended overhead at a height of 305 cm, based on the standard height of a basketball goal rim.

At the shop entrance, customers walk into the Initiative Zone where they discover a large seamless screen, a presentation table and a free-throw space. The biggest eye-catcher is the custom-designed display stage with a ‘Lebron 11 installation’. Specialnormal used Lebron 11, the Miami Heat LeBron James’ signature sneaker, as inspiration. ‘Power Harnessed’, the concept of the sneaker, was translated into this display – a huge, floating armour is fixed with bright red flywires onto the stage.

An 8-m-long presentation wall displaying rows of sneakers, as well as several other presentation walls, surround the Initiative Zone. All these freestanding walls are 305-cm high, similar to the rim of basketball hoop. To complete the look and feel of the shop, the designers used smokey-brown herringbone flooring adorned with white lines, also recognisable from basketball courts.

The shop will showcase the largest collection from the Nike basketball brand in Japan, but it’s now also the most interactive Nike store in Japan – which is exactly what Specialnormal aimed for.