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
Office Buildings | Dec 5, 2022
How to foster collaboration and inspiration for a workplace culture that does not exist (yet)
A building might not be able to “hack” innovation, but it can create the right conditions to foster connection and innovation, write GBBN's Chad Burke and Zachary Zettler.
Giants 400 | Dec 1, 2022
Top 100 Office Building Core+Shell Contractors and CM Firms for 2022
Turner Construction, AECOM, Clayco, and Gilbane top the ranking of the nation's largest office building core+shell contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 1, 2022
Top 75 Office Building Core+Shell Engineering + EA Firms for 2022
Jacobs, Alfa Tech, Burns & McDonnell, and Arup head the ranking of the nation's largest office building core+shell engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 1, 2022
Top 150 Office Building Core+Shell Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Gensler, NBBJ, Perkins and Will, and Stantec top the ranking of the nation's largest office building core+shell architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Nov 28, 2022
Top 130 Office Sector Contractors and CM Firms for 2022
Turner Construction, STO Building Group, Gilbane, and CBRE top the ranking of the nation's largest office sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Nov 28, 2022
Top 85 Office Sector Engineering and EA Firms for 2022
Jacobs, Alfa Tech, AECOM, and Burns & McDonnell head the ranking of the nation's largest office sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Nov 28, 2022
Top 200 Office Sector Architecture and AE Firms for 2022
Gensler, Perkins and Will, Stantec, and HOK top the ranking of the nation's largest office sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
BAS and Security | Oct 19, 2022
The biggest cybersecurity threats in commercial real estate, and how to mitigate them
Coleman Wolf, Senior Security Systems Consultant with global engineering firm ESD, outlines the top-three cybersecurity threats to commercial and institutional building owners and property managers, and offers advice on how to deter and defend against hackers.
Green | Oct 5, 2022
In California, a public power provider’s new headquarters serves as a test case for an innovative microgrid and for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Sonoma Clean Power (SCP), the public power provider for California’s Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, recently unveiled its new all-electric headquarters.
| Sep 20, 2022
New Long Beach office building reflects Mid-Century Modern garden-style motif
The new Long Beach, Calif., headquarters of Laserfiche, a provider of intelligent content management and business process automation software, was built on a brownfield parcel previously considered undevelopable.
