Located across from the Apollo Theater along historic 125th street, The House of Hoops in Harlem stands among other built friends to portray the neighborhood’s burgeoning economic and cultural renaissance. Within this context, and faced with the complex problem of establishing iconic branding for a one-off flagship store, the designer drew over an austere concrete canvas the geometric lines of basketball courts and hatched each shape with tread patterns. The massive panels are materially flat as well, with a thickness of 1 ½” achieved in high-strength reinforced ductal concrete. There existed relatively little testing data for the relatively new material, so we were required to base our calculations on our own tests and customized criteria. The finished product--a quiet billboard gracious to the surrounding buildings while softly establishing itself as an icon.