Designing Court 16: How Form, Function, and Style Come Together
With Matias Torrealba
When you walk into one of its clubs, you know instantly, “This is Court 16.” And there’s one man instrumental in helping make the Court 16 vision come to life, Chilean architect and Court 16 co-founder Matias Honorato Torrealba.
An Architecture of Evolution
Matias Honorato Torrealba describes his own style as heavily influenced by cultural interpretations and the evolution of society. In a sit-down interview, Matias noted, “My architecture and design attempts to show and expose the different qualities of the combined pieces of the building working in harmony.”
Design with a Heart
While Matias’s architecture can be enjoyed all over the world, including the expansive Franklin Theatrein China, he is especially fond of his less well-known projects. “I keep an important place in my heart for my smaller designs,” he remarks. “Both here in Chile as well as the three Court 16 clubs we’ve designed together over the years,” says the architect.
A Fateful Meeting
Matias first met Court 16 CEO Anthony Evrard through a mutual friend at a New York City bar. The two quickly hit it off, chatting about Anthony’s idea of a new, innovative tennis club for kids, particularly how the space itself can drive the larger mission of providing an exceptional, holistic tennis experience.
Matias signed on as a critical partner to help bring the Court 16 vision to life, quickly getting to work on the first club in Gowanus, Brooklyn. For the early brainstorm meetings, the team broke out of their stuffy conference rooms to find inspiration by walking the streets of New York City.
“Playful but Stimulating”
“We really wanted to open our imaginations, observing how everything in this city fits together and moves as one,” says” Matias. “We were seeking a unique way to create a community space that was playful but stimulating.”
Inspired by toy blocks building on each other, the team turned the empty Gowanus warehouse into a Court 16 wonderland. The materials, light, and colors (especially Court 16’s distinctive yellow) were used to heighten the senses, making every piece feel like it was working together to create a feeling of home. The result: an inviting community space for every kid to feel welcome and excited to learn tennis.
Ascending to the Next Level
With the Gowanus location thriving, the Court 16 team looked to expand, finding its second home in a warehouse in Long Island City next to a film studio. This proximity to the studio was intentional, proving to be a popular movie set and corporate event space.
With key learnings from the Gowanus club, the team looked to tackle one major obstacle: how to have floor lines that could change depending on the different programming throughout the classes, from pickleball to junior tennis to adult clinics. After many brainstorms that considered everything from laser traces to other futuristic technologies, LED lights under a glass floor became the group favorite. The team just had to find a way to turn this wild idea into reality.
That Gorgeous, Innovative Glass Flooring
“For the LIC club, we found a company who was building glass floors with LED lights underneath for multipurpose sports courts,” says Matias. “As fate would have it, the owner was traveling to Santiago exactly the day Anthony got in touch with him. I met up with him, and for the LIC club we got to work, producing the first glass tennis courts with LED lighting in the U.S. The result is truly spectacular.”
New Spaces, Broader Opportunities
To celebrate its almost ten year anniversary, Court 16 said goodbye to the Gowanus club and hello to two new clubs in the Financial District and Brooklyn Heights. While closing the Gowanus location was bittersweet, moving to the larger Downtown Brooklyn club with a full-size court now allowed junior Court 16 players to take full advantage of the modern approach to junior tennis by progressing from 36’/44’ courts to its full-size 78’ court.
Rather than warehouses like the first two clubs, the Downtown Brooklyn and Financial District clubs were built within existing multi-purpose buildings, creating a totally unique experience for Court 16 guests. Matias and the team believed the unique limitations of these existing New York buildings allowed them to play with new ways of bringing the Court 16 brand to life in New York City.
Right-Scaled Design
“For the financial district club, we had to tailor a much more intimate and premium experience even though we were in the middle of a very demanding environment,” notes Matias. “We wanted to produce this close, intimate, and premium brand that would still feel like a Court 16. City Point in Downtown Brooklyn is a much larger space, which meant we had to scale the experience accordingly, creating a homey yet expansive feel.”
Looking Ahead to What’s Next
Since its first club opened in Gowanus in 2014, Court 16 has grown and evolved - both in terms of service and number of clubs. No longer just a space for kids, the club welcomes all tennis and pickleball players. The club’s core values of inclusivity, innovation, and community stayed true even as the existing and new clubs grew to accommodate a growing clientele.
“It hasn’t always been easy to remain faithful to the brand’s core values while also evolving with the changing realities,” remarks Matias. “We always went back to our roots and found inspiration in different places in the city, helping us re-interpret our core values without ever losing sight of who Court 16 is.”