Connected workspace
The Serena Williams Building -a workplace for 2,750 occupants at 93,000m2 – is the largest structure at Nike World Headquarters.
Project Challenges
Beyond its sheer scale, the project presented three principal challenges: creating a new prototype for a design-focused workspace that fosters chemistry and collaboration on an enormous scale; leveraging regenerative principles to design for both the site and the building occupants; and finally, capturing the ethos of sport, Nike’s heritage, and the spirit of Serena Williams, the ultimate warrior-muse and the building’s namesake.
Interior Layout
The office space consists of four parts: an underground parking garage and loading dock; a merchandising center for prototype retail spaces, integrated design studios for multiple product categories and a 12-story tower with shared amenities for the campus. Integral to the design is the concept of flow i.e., a fluid design strategy that is both efficient and enlightened. By creating gathering spaces in a variety of scales, the building fosters connectivity, organized around the principle that all brand designers occupy a single level, while the services stack vertically between levels. This particular layout allows products to move from sketch to prototype to final design to retail fixture all under one roof.
Landscape Design & Materials
In its former life, the building site contained a parking lot and an access road to an adjacent building, all next to a beautiful wetland that is currently disjointed from the main campus. In order to connect the natural landscape more efficiently, the existing access road is buried lower into the ground, minimizing the visual presence of cars and trucks, while each of the building’s wings feature green roof terraces that overlook the wetland. Finally, stormwater is also collected and returned to the wetland, while energy efficient mechanical systems include displacement ventilation and radiant sails. Courtyards, gardens, plazas and a sunken tennis court break down the scale of the building and provide informal outdoor spaces for work, recreation and relaxation. Natural light floods the workspaces through large openings and skylights. The interior is clad primarily in raw concrete, while the building’s structure remains partially exposed.