Team Vitality, a French eSports organization, has recently opened its new HKS-designed Paris headquarters. The goal of the team’s new physical space is to make the brand appealing to a wider audience beyond eSports fans.
The design combines technology, retail, fashion, food and beverage elements to create a space that more closely resembles a neighborhood hangout rather than a competitive gaming facility. The four-story facility is housed in a traditional Haussmannian building near Place de la République and includes private office space and technology-packed rooms for content production and projection.
The ground floor acts as a public storefront and uses large LED video boards that face the street to project content to passersby. A central, flexible event space is flanked by entrances through the Vitality shop and a cafe. The Vitality store has a boutique aesthetic while the cafe is designed with wood and warm finishes, forgoing typical eSports merch stands or food and beverage locations.
The venue, known as V.Hive, can accommodate everything from educational experiences, to live music, to product launches by the team’s sponsors and partners. It is flexible enough to change quickly throughout the day. The ground floor is tied together by a “digital ribbon,” a series of LED video boards that flows from one space to the next, that acts as a canvas from content from Team Vitality and its partners.
See Also: Gamers paradise: The rise of eSports arenas
Audio and lighting can be varied from room to room and a central control room allows the team to orchestrate how digital content appears on the LED boards throughout the building.
“We wanted to create a physical venue for Team Vitality that is truly flexible for all their user groups: Vitality staff, players, fans and partners to gather publicly and privately in a space that would elevate the brand,” said Chi Bhatia, the Senior HKS Designer on the project in the firm’s London sports and entertainment studio, in a release. “This is one of the first true expressions of an eSports brand evolving into a lifestyle brand, via physical infrastructural investment for consumer-facing environments. We are still learning a lot in the space and wanted to challenge the notion of what truly is an ‘eSports venue.’”
See Also: The largest eSports stadium in North America opens in Arlington, Texas
Related Stories
| Jan 15, 2015
Libeskind unveils 'zig zag' plan for recreational center near Vilnius ski area
Perched on the highest peak between Vilnius' historic quarter and downtown, the Vilnius Beacon will be a hub for visiting skiers and outdoor enthusiasts.
| Jan 7, 2015
4 audacious projects that could transform Houston
Converting the Astrodome to an urban farm and public park is one of the proposals on the table in Houston, according to news site Houston CultureMap.
| Jan 5, 2015
Another billionaire sports club owner plans to build a football stadium in Los Angeles
Kroenke Group is the latest in a series of high-profile investors that want to bring back pro football to the City of Lights.
| Jan 5, 2015
Beyond training: How locker rooms are becoming more like living rooms
Despite having common elements—lockers for personal gear and high-quality sound systems—the real challenge when designing locker rooms is creating a space that reflects the attitude of the team, writes SRG Partnership's Aaron Pleskac.
| Jan 2, 2015
Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014
Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.
| Dec 30, 2014
A simplified arena concept for NBA’s Warriors creates interest
The Golden State Warriors, currently the team with the best record in the National Basketball Association, looks like it could finally get a new arena.
| Dec 28, 2014
AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy
Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Dec 18, 2014
Top 10 sports facilities of 2014: Designboom ranks the year's best projects
The list includes some of the year's epic stadiums, such as World Cup Stadium Arena de Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil, and smaller projects, like the Spordtgebouw Sports Centerin the Netherlands.
| Nov 19, 2014
Must see: Arup, Damian Rogers propose urban surf park in Melbourne
The surfing pool would offer 98-foot-wide waves that would run the length of the 500-foot-long enclave.
| Nov 18, 2014
New tool helps developers, contractors identify geographic risk for construction
The new interactive tool from Aon Risk Solutions provides real-time updates pertaining to the risk climate of municipalities across the U.S.