Off the back of Nike’s ‘Move to Zero’ initiative – a goal of moving towards a zero carbon and zero waste future – a basketball court and playground in New Belgrade, Serbia have been crafted from 20,000 recycled sneakers.

Designed by London-based Accept & Proceed (A&P), a creative agency which has previously collaborated with Nike on the ‘Move to Zero’ goal, the extensive redesign includes the court and playground, seating, the chain link fence, outdoor gym, collection bins and restoration of the existing elements.

Nike purposefully chose the court to be located in Block 70, a neighbourhood with a deep connection to basketball, having raised many of the sport’s legends. Representing the strong sense of the community in the area, ‘BLOK 70’ is printed on the court in bespoke Serbian lettering “to celebrate New Belgrade’s local community,” says A&P principal designer Nigel Cottier.

“It was fascinating to come up with the different elements of lettering that can inform another function, like a free-throw or half court line, and even more exciting to think that the design will not only inform the players’ movements, but influence the community spirit and energy of Block 70,” adds Cottier.

A bold palette of acid green, grey, white and black abstractly delineates the court’s boundaries and runs throughout the park and recreation area, with acid green swings and play equipment dotting the precinct.

Bright hazard stripes markate different play areas, a motif borrowed from ‘Move to Zero’, referencing the urgency of climate change.

The 20,000 sneakers were donated by the local community with the goal of repurposing shoes headed to landfill. Collection bins in local stores and public areas used the same design vernacular and were surrounded by plinths made of worn-out sports shoes at their various stages of upcycling.

The Serbian basketball court for Nike isn’t the first sports space that A&P have worked on. Just last year, the agency designed the Hackney Marshes Football Pitches, a colourful set of soccer fields that allow for socially distanced gameplay.

Accept & Proceed’s Hackney Marshes project.

Accept and Proceed
acceptandproceed.com

Nike Move to Zero
nike.com/au/sustainability

Photography
rastkosurdic.com