PIXEL PERFECT
/ ALL PROJECTS
[ CONCEPT / 07 ] CHAMPION'S HOMELEAD DESIGNER: ROKI

KING'S RESIDENCE.

The King has the court. The dachshund has the final say.

A home for a basketball player who doesn't do small ambitions or small aquariums. Sharks behind the sofa, rainbow grasshoppers next door, a golden ball overhead. One click turns the lounge into a club; another pulls a career out of the floor. Roki only asked that nobody call him a mascot.

CLIENT
King / height: too much for standard doors
ARCHITECT
Roki / height: ideal for floor supervision
FAUNA
Sharks + rainbow grasshoppers
LOUNGE MODES
Family / party / modest display of greatness

[ BRIEF ]

We started with LeBron's homes: reporting on his Brentwood residence described a cinema, wine cellar and gym with a spa; the Akron-area home also had an aquarium and recording studio. Our King looked at those references and said: “Good, but the fish need more confidence”. Roki added sharks. Then came “grasshoppers, but rainbow ones”. Roki didn't blink. After a palace for a poodle, nothing impresses him. The court was obvious. A golden basketball overhead, less so. A career rising through the floor required a separate meeting with the structural engineer and his therapist.

A basketball player shakes Roki's paw in a lounge with sharks, rainbow grasshoppers and a golden basketball chandelier
THE KING'S LOUNGE / 01
A basketball player trains on a private court with Roki courtside, a pool and gym behind them
COURT / 02
A golden basketball chandelier and coloured spotlights turn the lounge into a club, with Roki at the DJ decks
PARTY MODE / 03
Plinths carrying trophies, statuettes and medals rise from underground lift shafts in the lounge
CAREER FROM BELOW / 04

[ HOW IT WENT ]

CASE STUDY.

01 / THE SHARK DOESN'T READ THE BRIEF

The aquarium takes up a lounge wall. The sharks got a dedicated water system, service room and specialists, because “it'll be fine” isn't a filtration system. The rainbow grasshoppers live next door in a separate terrarium. They don't swim. Roki marked this on the drawing three times after a contractor asked if they could go “with the big fish”. They cannot. The client watches the game, the shark watches the client, the grasshoppers watch the budget and jump. Everyone responds within their expertise.

02 / GOLD FOR THREE

The main light is a golden basketball surrounded by spotlights. Day to day it glows warmly so dinner doesn't feel like a press conference. On demand it launches party mode: colours, light beams and bass that doesn't drive the neighbours mad, because the acoustics were calculated first. Hip-hop and a wine cellar nod to LeBron's interests. Roki also wanted a motorcycle sound for entrances. Rejected. The client approved every lighting scene in arkeeno, so “I thought the gold would be more golden” never made it to overtime.

03 / HUMILITY ON A LIFT

On the private court King works on his shot. Roki works on making sure the ball isn't bigger than his entire department. In the lounge, the medals and statuettes from a whole career wait underground on individual plinths. The reference was LeBron's four NBA championships, three Olympic golds and one bronze. King wanted it “fairly discreet”. So we designed lifts that bring the achievements to the surface on demand. No fanfare. Fanfare didn't fit the estimate. Sensors block movement when a person, dog or someone who hasn't realised they should move is standing above a hatch. Roki tested it personally. He did not become the fifth trophy.

Pixel portrait of Roki, project lead architect

[ ROKI SAYS ]

“The client wanted higher ceilings because he's over two metres tall. I wanted lower door handles because I'm twenty centimetres tall. We both got our way. The only one who didn't get a raise was the shark. He's already high enough in the food chain.”

ROKI.

PROJECT LEAD ARCHITECT / JAMNIK WSPANIAŁY

[ RESULTS ]

1

CLICK TO PARTY

0

GRASSHOPPERS IN THE AQUARIUM

100%

OF A CAREER UNDER DACHSHUND SUPERVISION

[ CLIENT SAYS ]

“I thought I knew how to perform under pressure. Then a dachshund told me to pick the grout by Friday. I picked it on Thursday. The sharks are less assertive.”
— KING / CLIENT

[ LIKE THE VIBE? ]

WANT AN
INTERIOR LIKE THIS?