An interconnected knitted mesh has been used as an anchor for the massive, metallic NIKE dome currently hovering over Milan’s Palazzo Clerici.

Created in collaboration with the Taiwanese Miniwiz founder Arthur Huang, to coincide with Milan Design Week 2014, the ‘aero-static dome’ serves as the exhibition space for the world premiere of NIKE’s Kobe 9 Elite Low HTM shoes.

At the base of the dome structure are nine glass capsules which support the aerial form and display the new shoe design.

The shoe’s flyknit technology boasts lightweight, form-fitting, optimal performance and enhanced sustainability qualities, all of which are reflected in the design of the aero-static dome.

Elements from the aerodynamic inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci’s triangular parachute and Alexander Graham Bell’s tetrahedral kite are also reflected in Huang’s floating design, with the wind resistant structure supported solely by vertical buoyancy.

Courtesy Designboom