bizarre basketball hoops by yongwook seong explore alternative designs for the sport

yongwook seong reimagines the basketball hoop as a series of surreal visualizations in his latest project called ‘the hoops’. the designer takes a look back at the origins of the sport and explores some alternative designs: from a gravity-defying hoop to a spider-like basket on mars.

‘frame hoop’ questions the function of a hoop as an object to be dominated and scored, it provides an unconventional lens through its own transparent backboard and a place to relax

yongwook seong began the project by analyzing the very act of throwing and ballistic training, which has been used throughout history as both a sport and a way to train soldiers. the very first basketball game was held at springfield college in the US state of massachusetts in 1891. james naismith, the inventor of basketball, nailed two peach baskets to each end of the gym and told players to throw a ball into the basket to score. naismith recalled the game as a very violent affair as, without proper rules, players began to attack each other by kicking and punching. the result was brutal, and naismith soon revised the rules to make the game safer.

‘four-legged mcpider hoop’ lands on mars; playing basketball on mars would be a vastly different experience with a third of earth’s gravity

basketball continued to be played with peach baskets up until 1906 when they were replaced with metal hoops with backboards. over the following decades, basketball grew in popularity primarily due to the development of the sport during world war II, according to douglas stark in his book ‘wartime basketball’. it was during these years that the largely regional game became a national sport, and what is now the most popular sport in the US. 

‘invasive plant’ in the desert

it’s this connection to world war II that seong focuses on to create his bizarre hoop designs, ‘the hoops explores alternative designs that would have been missed out during wartime.’  the designer ironically places each redesigned hoop in a natural setting, therefore creating an ‘anomaly’ and unraveling an alternative basketball story.

‘levitating hoop’: playing basketball on earth is bound with gravity, and defying the force has been the key motivation for many players

‘karkinos’ hides under the beach, the giant crab from greek mythology is afraid of the attack of heracles after biting his foot

‘sarracenia bird’ attracts prey into its pitcher by its smell and color, once digested and full, it flies away

‘walrusaurus’ is inspired by inuit mythology: the creator-god, anguta, was angered by the attack of sedna and chopped her fingers into the sea, which later became walruses and seals

‘good morning’, said the desert flower

project info:

name: the hoops
designer: yongwook seong