Adidas’ Latest Design Was Inspired by Ai Weiwei and Herzog and de Meuron

Sometimes, architecture can go beyond its walls to influence other designs. David Adjaye ( who was recently included on the prestigious list of Time 's 100 Most Influential People of 2017 ), for example, was part of a collaboration to create a wireless speaker system. Most recently, however, this relationship between architecture and the greater world of aesthetics occurred when Adidas unveiled its latest shoe design, an architecturally inspired ode to Beijing's National Stadium.

Designed by Swiss architectural firm Herzog and de Meuron and Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei , the arena has taken an iconic role in the world of stadium architecture since it was unveiled in 2008. Adidas, for its part, has implemented elements from the bird’s-nest design onto a shoe, resulting in the same cacophonous effect. The German athletic-wear designer tasked KXIV, a brand that's made a reputation for re-creating architectural themes into footwear, to create the shoes. By using two thicker 3-D-printed laces, the firm was able to wrap the shoes with a continuous loop, effectively mimicking the same pattern that made Beijing's stadium so recognizable. Furthermore, the shoes also includes a more subtle skin of mesh underneath the two main loops, which will feature the same erratic design.

Beijing's National Stadium, which cost roughly $300 million to build, was completed in 2008, in time for that summer’s Olympic Games. There has been no indication when Adidas' shoe will hit the market, or how much each pair will cost.