Technicolor Paris Duperré Basketball Court by Pigalle, Ill-Studio & Nike

If you thought it was striking before, wait til you see it now. Originally known for its edgy graphic layout, punctuated by its primary colour scheme, the Paris Duperré basketball court was first revealed in 2009. It was a collaboration between Pigalle the French fashion brand, the design agency Ill-Studio and the people from Nike. A court with an already a famous reputation just got a lot more traction.

Recently it has been redesigned and repainted in a striking and even cooler colour scheme. Basketball has never been hotter. The wickedly clever selection of highly saturated colours, fuchsia, blue and purple are eye-catching to say the least. But it’s the grazing of colour at the top of the walls, the burnt orange with vibrant yellow that gives it a feeling of the sunrise glowing over the magenta hues below. The court almost appears iridescent.

Slotted in the gap between two apartment buildings in the 9th arrondissement of Paris it was a bold redevelopment of the site by Pigalle, Ill-Sudio and Nike at the time. It’s even better now. Hot pink translucent backboards take the impact from slammed basketballs and the trim of white, whilst adding definition to the tequila sunrise colour palette, defines the play area and zones on the court. They’ve also pulled down the white barrier blocking the basketball court from Rue Duperré. Now passerbys can get a glimpse of the multi-hued court through the panels of blue mesh that replaced it. Is it art? Or is it sport? Or is it performance? Or is there a perfect synergy between the three?

“The anatomy of the human body as well as its performances have had a lifelong relationship with art. Since the legacy of Greek and Roman antiquity, sport is represented as a dominant idea within the beauty of an era. This never-ending quest for modernity has forged a strong bond between functionality and aesthetics over the decades,” said the team involved in the project.

The project coincides with Pigalle’s latest clothing collection in collaboration with NIKElab. The collection a nod to the ‘90s basketball aesthetic was the inspiration for Ill-Stuido’s colour palette for the court. Think Just Do It meets high viz. And that’s just the court.