If these Adidas sneakers look oddly familiar to you there’s a good reason. The design was actually inspired by our very own Bird’s Nest Stadium.
Beijing's National Stadium opened in 2008 and was designed by Swiss architectural firm Herzog and de Meuron and Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. And even though the Olympics has long been over, the stadium's tangled exterior remains incredibly iconic.
Adidas was apparently so taken with the design of the building that they decided to incorporate architectural features from Bird’s Nest Stadium into their reimagined Adidas Ultraboost running shoe.
Adidas commissioned designer KXIV (Nathan Kiatkulpiboone) – who is known for fusing architecture and footwear – to help them. The look was achieved by using 3-D printed technology to create the two laces, which zigzag across the shoe in a continuous line. The more delicate and chaotic-looking mesh was fashioned underneath the laces by using a polyurethane webbing.
The result is a sneaker that looks an awful lot like Bird’s Nest Stadium. But don’t run out to the store to buy these yet. This is just a prototype. As of now, Adidas hasn’t announced when (or if) the new running shoes will be available for purchase.
[Image via Architectural Digest and Mental Floss]
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