When Roger Federer takes a break during one of his matches at the U.S. Open, he can thank Princeton-based Michael Graves Architecture & Design for having a comfy place to sit.
The firm on Nassau Street was chosen in December by the United States Tennis Association to design all the “furniture” for the courts at the two-week tennis tournament that began on Aug. 27 in Queens, N.Y. That includes everything from the seats court officials use to containers holding water bottles and tennis balls.
The U.S. Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, was aiming to give itself a new look on its 50th anniversary.
“We’ve had the same look on our courts since 1997,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said. “So it’s been a long time since we thought of transforming or creating a new visual court identity.”
One step in that change was designing a new logo for the tournament.
“Beyond that, we began to think there may be an opportunity here to create a new visual identity for the U.S. Open and bring that to life on the courts as well,” he said.
That’s where Michael Graves Architecture & Design came in, having won a competitive process to land the assignment. When the firm started working on designs at the beginning of the year, it began from the ground up.
“In order to really, truly reimagine the tournament, it has to be from scratch,” said Donald Strum, principal of the firm. “It has to be from using our imagination in developing the court-side furniture. Really, it was about how do you make it feel premium for the grandest of slams.”
This was not the first time the firm worked on a sports-related project. It designed the practice facility for the Philadelphia Eagles, the headquarters for the NCAA in Indianapolis and medals for the Pan-American games.
For this project, the firm wanted to have furniture different from the other major tennis tournaments.
“If you look at Wimbledon,” Strum said, “it looks like the umpire is precariously just sitting on a ladder and at any point he’s going to … fall over.”
In thinking of design ideas, the firm took inspiration from the city the tournament calls home. The U.S. Open is played in Flushing Meadows, Queens, across the street from Citi Field, where the Mets play.
“The city was always the backdrop to us,” Strum said. “And we thought it has to find its way into whatever we’re designing.”
For example, the elevated chair where the umpire sits was meant to evoke New York skyscrapers, and the stairs on the chair hearken to fire escapes on brownstone buildings in the city.
“We thought it was interesting to just take common elements, very familiar elements of New York, and see them in a new and exciting way,” Strum said.
The new versions also include a roughly three-and-a-half inch thick cushion, as the chair umpire has to sit through matches that can last several hours.
The player’s chair was made wider, from around 18 inches to about 22 inches, and the arms were removed.
“If you think about it, what other sport, when you’re sitting on the sidelines, has arm rests?” Strum said. “None.”
The chair took inspiration from benches in Central Park. There are two seats on a bench raised off the floor, with room between the chairs for players to put their equipment.
“We wanted to make sure whatever we’re doing,” Strum said, “it’s relying on being made really well and performing very well, just like the tournament itself.”
So far, the changes are getting a thumb’s up.
“We are thrilled with the way it looks,” Widmaier said. “It’s a much richer look, it’s a much less cluttered look. It almost looks like it’s been there forever.”
Widmaier said he asked tennis star Rafael Nadal, the top ranked men’s player who was practicing, what he thought.
“And he looked and (said), ‘Very nice, very nice.’ ”