In Beaverton, Ore., the new Serena Williams Building, at just over 1 million square feet, is the largest structure at Nike World Headquarters. Designed by Portland-based Skylab Architecture, the building is a design-focused workplace for 2,750 occupants.
The structure comprises four parts: a 12-story tower with shared amenities for the campus, design studios, a merchandise center for prototype retail spaces, and an underground parking garage and loading dock. Each brand of the Nike business occupies its own level, with services stacked vertically between the levels. For the first time, Nike products can move from sketch to prototype to final design to retail fixture all under one roof.
Throughout, the design team emphasized the concept of flow to facilitate unexpected connections among designers and various parts of the business. Gathering spaces of varying sizes foster connection both indoors and outdoors. With glazing on two sides and skylights above, natural light floods the workspaces. Courtyards, gardens, plazas, and a sunken tennis court provide outdoor spaces for work, recreation, and relaxation.
In its former life, the building site contained a parking lot and an access road to an adjacent building, all next to a wetland. To strengthen the connection with the natural landscape and minimize the visual presence of cars and trucks, the design team buried the access road and all parking and loading. The building’s green roof terraces overlook the wetland.
A photovoltaic array screens rooftop mechanical units from view. Stormwater is collected and returned to the wetland. Energy-efficient mechanical systems include displacement ventilation and radiant sails. The building is LEED platinum certified.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Nike
Architecture and interior design: Skylab Architecture
Civil engineering: WHPacific
Contractor: Hoffman Construction
Landscape design: Place Landscape
Mechanical/electrical/plumbing: PAE
Structural engineering: Thornton Tomasetti
Related Stories
Design Innovation Report | Apr 27, 2023
BD+C's 2023 Design Innovation Report
Building Design+Construction’s Design Innovation Report presents projects, spaces, and initiatives—and the AEC professionals behind them—that push the boundaries of building design. This year, we feature four novel projects and one building science innovation.
Office Buildings | Apr 24, 2023
Smart savings: Commissioning for the hybrid workplace
Joe Crowe, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Gresham Smith, shares smart savings tips for facility managers and building owners of hybrid workplaces.
Design Innovation Report | Apr 19, 2023
Reinforced concrete walls and fins stiffen and shade the National Bank of Kuwait skyscraper
When the National Bank of Kuwait first conceived its new headquarters more than a decade ago, it wanted to make a statement about passive design with a soaring tower that could withstand the extreme heat of Kuwait City, the country’s desert capital.
Office Buildings | Apr 13, 2023
L.A. headquarters for startup Califia Farms incorporates post-pandemic hybrid workplace design concepts
The new Los Angeles headquarters for fast-growing Califia Farms, a brand of dairy alternative products, was designed by SLAM with the post-Covid hybrid work environment in mind. Located in Maxwell Coffee House, a historic production facility built in 1924 that has become a vibrant mixed-use complex, the office features a café bordered by generous meeting rooms.
Architects | Apr 6, 2023
New tool from Perkins&Will will make public health data more accessible to designers and architects
Called PRECEDE, the dashboard is an open-source tool developed by Perkins&Will that draws on federal data to identify and assess community health priorities within the U.S. by location. The firm was recently awarded a $30,000 ASID Foundation Grant to enhance the tool.
Government Buildings | Mar 24, 2023
19 federal buildings named GSA Design Awards winners
After a six-year hiatus, the U.S. General Services Administration late last year resumed its esteemed GSA Design Awards program. In all, 19 federal building projects nationwide were honored with 2022 GSA Design Awards, eight with Honor Awards and 11 with Citations.
Green Renovation | Mar 5, 2023
Dept. of Energy offers $22 million for energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades
The Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy is offering more than $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance to teams across America. Prize recipients will be selected based on their ideas to accelerate widespread, equitable energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades.
Industry Research | Mar 2, 2023
Watch: Findings from Gensler's latest workplace survey of 2,000 office workers
Gensler's Janet Pogue McLaurin discusses the findings in the firm's 2022 Workplace Survey, based on responses from more than 2,000 workers in 10 industry sectors.
Codes and Standards | Feb 21, 2023
Standards vs Guidelines: The benefits of establishing process
The unsung hero of standards may be the impact they can have on speed to market and price of product and project, according to IA Interior Architects.
Office Buildings | Feb 12, 2023
Smyrna Ready Mix’s new office HQ mimics the patterns in the company’s onsite stone quarry
Designed by EOA Architects to showcase various concrete processes and applications, Smyrna Ready Mix's new office headquarters features vertical layering that mimics the patterns in the company’s stone quarry, located on the opposite end of the campus site. The building’s glass and concrete bands are meant to mirror the quarry’s natural contours and striations.
