Fila

At the heart of any sport is movement. So for Italian sportswear retailer Fila's 4000-square-foot “temple of sport” on New York's Madison Avenue, designer Giorgio Borruso created a space that's inundated with a sense of motion.

On the store's left side, hundreds of shoes appear to take flight up a canted 50-foot wall that is textured to resemble ocean waves. In the middle of the space, three ellipsoidal metallic elements by Eventscape Inc. (Toronto) descend from the ceiling, encasing existing columns and reflecting the surrounding environment. These curvilinear elements move from centrifugal force, appearing to come down from the ceiling in search of an anchor. The ceiling itself consists of undulating strips by Eventscape that suggest courses or pathways for moving through the space. And the store's dressing rooms feature semi-transparent walls that create filtered shadows generated by the movement of the customers trying on garments behind them.

To make all this interior movement evident to passersby, the store features a transparent floor-to-ceiling façade.

Client: Fila USA, New York

Design: Giorgio Borruso Design, Marina Del Rey, Calif.
Giorgio Borruso, principal and designer
Elizabeth Chang, designer
Devin McConkey, designer

General Contractor: Turner Construction, New York

Outside Design Consultants: Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design, New York (lighting)
GMS (Gilsanz. Murray. Steficek), New York (structural)
Ambrosino, DePinto & Schmieder, New York (MEP)

Audio/Visual: CMS innovative Consultants, New York

Columns/ Ceiling/Dressing Room Wall: eventscape, Toronto

Fixtures: Buzzoni, Bosaro, Rovigo, Italy

Flooring: V.A.L. Floors Inc., New York

Photography: Benny Chan/Fotoworks, Los Angeles