Welland Sin

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Executive Summary and Thesis Description


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brandparkThesis StatementExecutive Summary

This project explores the architectural ramica-tions that result from the convergence of adver-tising and content. Medias conventional form ofad-supported content is being replaced by a hy-brid: branded content that blurs the line between

commercial message and personal experience.As retail environments strive to become centresof lifestyle, brands now provide their own socio-

cultural content. In many cases, the boundarybetween corporate strategy and personal idealshas dissolved along with our traditional ideas ofthe space of consumption. Spatial content, whichhas been typically the domain of architects, is nowtransforming to perform a double function of ac-

commodating users as well as conveying synthe-sized corporate identity.Brandparks program and architectural designstrategy is a response to a hypothetical scenario

in which a partnership is formed between a mul-tinational sportswear company and the semi-au-

tonomous athletics program of an urban universityin Montreal. Concordia University has affirmed itsbrand identity as an open minded, approachableinstitution that strives to deliver quality educa-tion that is innovative and centers on the needsof its students. In addition to high-prole athleticendorsements and exclusive event sponsorships,Adidas strives for creativity in marketing by form-ing countless partnerships with artists, entertain-

ment studios and outside brands. The architec-tural proposition is a collaboration between anathletics program and an outside brand, to rein-vent the typical relationship between a sponsorand its beneciary.Taking the place of posters, slogans and veiledproduct placements is a complete architectural ex-pression of the Adidas brand that weaves brandedprogram performance space, special exhibi-

tions and retail amenities within a varsity athleticscomplex and student recreation centre. Brandparkis at once an Adidas agship and student athlet-


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b

asketball

golf

soccer

jogging track

squash

courts

spa

pool

vending machine

squ

ash

curling

aerobics

ics hub that deliberately erases the boundarybetween corporate message and architecturalcontent.Imagined as a three-dimensional eld of senso-rial experience, the programmatic organization ofthe complex was based on iterations from scripted

algorithms that mixed athletic and branded pro-gram within the site envelope based on limiteddesign assumptions to minimize travel distanceand maximize the possibility for programmaticinteraction. The end result is two interdependentsystems connected by continuous vertical circula-tion. The Adidas brand is constructed as seam-less transition from competitive performance to asport lifestyle. The athletics centre program and its

unique localized climatic effects are exploited as

sensorial emitters that deliver the complete expe-rience of sport to Adidas customers and connectthe student athletes with a peripheral sports-cen-tric lifestyle co-existing within the building.Concordias new athletics complex accommo-dates sports and the branded program at an ar-

chitectural level, using a complete range of designgestures that moves beyond the traditional roleof product identication and market differentiationinto a sensitively constructed experience in an ur-ban context. By considering the consumer as anactive participant in the Adidas environment andincorporating a complete sensorial experience,this facility repositions corporate sponsorship andproposes a new architectural vision for branded

space in the city.


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brandparkThesis Statement

The history of modern architecture is intertwinedwith the materialization of corporate identity.

Setting critiques of consumerist architectureaside, this project began with a genuine interestin branded space and its role in shaping urbanexperience. Contemporary retail space, the mostfamiliar example of brand space acts as showcasefor its products and maintains a direct relation-ship between the consumer and the product. Thisproject attempts to extend the realm of brandedspace past the display of products and become a

complete experience, a product in itself. Above all,this project is an experiment in creating a hybridarchitecture that fuses urban content and corpo-rate advertising into a singular experience.

Central to the development of the initial thesisproposal was the phenomenon of media conver-gence, outlined by Henry Jenkins as the growing

collaboration between the worlds of entertainmentand advertising, in which a new branded enter-tainment has emerged, erasing the line betweencorporate persuasion and cultural production.Major advertising on television is no longer brack-eted into 30 second intervals between program-ming; it is skilfully woven into the narrative of theprogram itself. In architectural terms, progressiveretail space has adapted to accommodate addi-

tional program to become a complete environment


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basketball

field

theatre

lounge

exhibition

offices

retail

enter viewto

mou

ntain

viewtoam

cforum

viewto

tupp

ersq.

viewtoste.catherine

enter enter

offices

clinic

k it ch en s to ra ge r es er va ti on s s qu as h p oo l

equipment running

studios

club roomsfitness

gymnasiumc li mb in g c ha ng e

games lobby golf


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that sustains its own branded lifestyle. Concertsat the Apple store, Yoga class at Lululemon andretrospective exhibitions at the Citroen agshipare all manifestations of a desire for multivalent

retail space that offers more than product and itselegant showcase.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, institu-

tional space is now becoming overpopulated bybranded interventions. Within the university es-tablishment, limited corporate sponsorship in theform of plaques, vending machines and restroom

media is tolerated so long as it remains beneaththe surface so as not to jeopardize an image ofacademic impartiality.

McGill Universitys varsity program, like many ofits Canadian counterparts, relies heavily on the

revenue from outside corporate sponsors, andoperates in near nancial autonomy. As a result,retail space and advertising gure prominently

in the experience of a students workout rou-tine. Ads targeted at the student consumer (cellphones, soft drinks and birth control) are sprinkledthroughout the most public corridors of the build-ing. At the NikeTown concept stores worldwide,athletic motifs and oversized sports equipmenthave been added to retail as like props in a stageset, performing a single purpose: to evoke authen-

ticity as an athletics company. Going one stepfurther, Nike and Adidas stage sporting eventswith high prole athletes and amateur enthusiastsalike in order to promote products and strengthenbrand awareness. In Whos Afraid of NikeTown?,author Friedrich von Borries compares thesebranded events to a nearly invisible layer, or lmthat cover[s] the entire city, and alters it. It iswithin this context that Brandpark takes shape,

as an intersection and co-habitation of seeminglydivergent programs.

Brandpark is a response to a hypothetical sce-nario in which a partnership is formed between amultinational sportswear company and the ath-letics program of an urban university. ConcordiaUniversity has affirmed its brand identity as an

open minded, approachable institution that strivesto deliver quality education that is innovative andcenters on the needs of its students. Concordiasvarsity athletics program is currently housed at


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its Loyola campus sports complex six kilometresaway in Notre Dame De Grace which relativelyisolated and difficult to adapt as a student rec-reation centre for its downtown campus. It is for

this reason that a site was chosen at the heart ofConcordia campus adjacent to Bethune Square,Concordias main civic space and the centre ofthe universitys Plan Quartier. In developing the

program for this project, two examples were used:Concordias existing plans for a new athleticscomplex and Adidas recently completed brandcentre in Beijing.

In addition to high proled and endorsements andexclusive event sponsorships, Adidas strives forcreativity in marketing by forming countless part-nerships with artists, entertainment studios andfashion companies. The architectural proposition

set forth is to materialize a collaboration betweenan athletics program and an outside brand, andreinvent the typical relationship between a spon-

sor and its beneciary. In the early stages of theproject, the Adidas brand experience was mappedacross its advertisements as a series of recurringnarratives with unique perspectives on sports andthe Adidas lifestyle. It became clear that Adidasunique selling proposition was not just sports andthe pursuit of victory (i.e. Nike), but a casual andstylized rendering of its own history as an innova-

tor in sports apparel. Adidas, unlike other sports-wear companies, spends a considerable amountof effort making connections between sports andan urban, creative lifestyle. It was for this reasonthat the spaces outside the playing surfaces be-came as important as the playing surfaces them-selves.

The design process began with a diagrammaticanalysis of the both programs and the possibil-ity of their interaction. Emphasis was placed onquestioning the stratied urban arrangement inwhich commercial space occupies the lower oorsand offices and institutions are stacked above.Instead the athletics facility was imagined as athree-dimensional eld of experiences, where

retail and commercial entities interlock with thesports program, interstitial spaces as well asunlikely adjacencies are exploited as expressionsof the buildings hybrid composition. The organiza-


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VARSITY STORE

CURLING

TO ADIDAS RETAIL

TO POOL LEVEL

RETAIL CORE ATHLETICS LOBBY BRAND EXHIBITION

BOUL.D

EMAISON

NEUVE

RUEGUY

METROGUY-CONCORDIA


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tion of the program was based on iterations from ascripted algorithm that mixed athletic and brandedprogram within the site envelope based on limiteddesign assumptions to minimize travel distance

and maximize the possibility for programmaticinteraction. The end result is two interdependentsystems connected by continuous vertical circula-tion, forming an Adidas landscape populated by

shopping, dining and event space interspersedwith Concordias recreation centre. The Adidasbrand is constructed as seamless transition fromcompetitive performance to a sports lifestyle.

The athletic centre program and its unique lo-calized climactic effects were exploited as at-mospheric emitters that connect athletic andnon-athletics spaces in a common sensorialexperience. Connecting the lobby and secondoor retail spaces is an escalator imbedded in the

vestibule of the curling rink that leads customersto an 8m full glazed shopping area beneath theclimbing wall. Sport is unavoidable for athletes

and customers alike. In addition to the controlledatmospheres inside the building, emphasis wasplaced on projecting sports and its atmospherebeyond the building into the connecting under-ground passageway and onto Bethune square.The twenty-four hour exterior basketball courtslides under the retail space on the third oor andextends to the southernmost edge of the site. To

further increase a connection between the Adi-das brand and the athletes, retail installations aremade directly accessible to the athletes, with a sixstorey vending machine that penetrates throughthe tness, squash courts and aerobics oors, andcafe and juice bar that serve both the athletic andretail areas simultaneously. Taking the place ofposters, slogans and veiled product placementsis a complete architectural expression of the of

the Adidas brand that weaves branded program performance space, special exhibitions and retailamenities within a varsity athletics complex andstudent recreation centre.

The formal language of the building is in continuitywith Concordias large urban block buildings suchas the Hall Building and the Science and Engi-

neering Complex. Its modular facade addressesthe discontinuous athletic program that createsthe public interior space. A diagonally stripedfacade evocative of the Adidas logo and provid-


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ing critical southern shade wraps the building andreveals the agglomeration of translucent-walledplaying surfaces. At the intersection of the exteriorsoccer eld, the running track and the student

lounge the facade is carved away to reveal thedepth of programmatic complexity.

Ever present yet rarely discussed is architectures

role as use as a tool to express corporate identityand the methods by which branded space is cre-ated. Concordias new athletics complex accom-modates sports and the Adidas extended program

at an architectural level, using a complete range ofarchitectural gestures to enhance the experienceof sport and create a past the traditional role ofproduct identication and market differentiationinto a sensitively constructed experience in an ur-ban context. By considering the consumer as an

active participant in the Adidas environment, andincorporating a complete sensorial experience,this facility repositions corporate sponsorship and

proposes a new architectural vision for brandedspace in the city.

Welland Sin

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Transcript of Welland Sin