Study /

Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic

Hurlingham Club, London
Arrival

The approach to the Hurlingham Club begins before the entrance.

A drive lined with trees. A gate. The first signs that something has been added to a place that already exists.

Signage appears before the club itself comes into view. Lettering on a wall, set against brick and ivy, naming an event that will only be here for a short time.

This is not a venue built for the occasion. It is a club that has, for a number of days, agreed to hold one.

Occupation

Inside, the markers begin.

A panel bearing a crest and a name, mounted against timber. Two folding chairs set in front of it, each carrying the same lettering.

Nearby, a cabinet of products sits behind glass, arranged with the same care as any boutique. Caps, bottles, bags, set out in rows under soft light.

None of this required new architecture. A wall was used. A cabinet was filled. A chair was placed.

The fashion house has entered the building without changing it.

Preparation

Before play, the courts are empty.

Two chairs face a panel, both carrying the same name. The grass is marked but unused. The stands above are empty too, a long run of navy seating with a name printed along the boundary in white.

Everything is positioned. Nothing is yet in use.

There is a particular quality to a space prepared for an audience that has not yet arrived.

Observation

An official stands beside the court, dressed in white, a stopwatch in hand.

He is not part of the brand presence, and not part of the crowd. He occupies a third position, present throughout but rarely the subject of attention.

Figures like this hold an event together. They are visible in almost every photograph and the focus of almost none.

Play

On court, a player reaches for a shot, the stands behind him full.

Elsewhere, in black and white, another rally is underway, a name printed on the screen beyond the baseline.

The tennis is present, but only briefly. It is one part of a longer sequence, not the centre of it.

Residence

Inside the clubhouse, a room holds armchairs, paintings, a lamp lit against the daylight from tall windows.

This room existed before the event and will remain after it. Nothing here has been added for the occasion.

Elsewhere, a different kind of room has been built entirely for it. A pavilion, lit from within, a crest on the ceiling, two figures standing inside an interior made specifically for these few days.

One room has always been here. The other will not be here next week.

Both, for now, belong to the same afternoon.

Departure

From a distance, the court widens.

Stands full, sky grey, the grass stretching out in front of the seating.

From here, the branding is harder to see. What remains is the shape of the place itself, the court, the stands, the trees beyond.

In a few days, this will be a club again, without an event inside it.

For now, it is both.

The approach to the Hurlingham Club, London
Signage at the entrance, Hurlingham Club, London
Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic branding and chairs, Hurlingham Club, London
Retail display, Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, Hurlingham Club, London
Empty chairs courtside, Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, Hurlingham Club, London
Branding along the empty stands, Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, Hurlingham Club, London
An official courtside, Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, Hurlingham Club, London
On court, Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, Hurlingham Club, London
A rally in progress, Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, Hurlingham Club, London
A room inside the Hurlingham Club, London
The Armani pavilion interior, Hurlingham Club, London
The court, wide, Hurlingham Club, London