Beaverton, Oregon, USA
Covering more than 1 million square feet, the new Serena Williams Building designed by Skylab Architecture for Nike, celebrates the legacy of the world-renowned sports legend Serena Williams.
The Serena Williams Building has been recently awarded a 2023 American Award for Architecture Honorable Mention from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
This sports campus comprises four distinct parts- three wings linked by a 12-storey tower with shared amenities for the entire campus.
The idea of flow, a dynamic planning strategy that is both efficient and informed, is central to the design, facilitating unplanned interactions and prospects among designers and various parts of the business.
The project fosters connectivity and cohesiveness by allowing the entire design process to be carried out in an integrated environment – from the initial sketch to prototype to actual product development, all in a single building.
The main purpose is to preserve and strengthen the ecology while responding to the site’s immediate context.
Formerly housing a parking space and an access road adjacent to a stretch of wetlands, the site called for an opportunity to embrace the surrounding landscape into the design while giving back to nature.
To achieve this, the existing road was turned into an underground passageway, connecting the building to the surrounding wetlands.
The exterior spaces in between wings and along this new edge are treated with equal sensitivity to establish an indoor-outdoor connection.
Courtyards, tennis courts, plazas, and gardens serve as informal spaces that break down the scale of the building.
Each wing gradually slopes to the south and features green roofs and a catchment system that minimizes stormwater runoff.
A 260-kW photovoltaic array serves as an extended façade and conceals the rooftop mechanical systems.
Project: The Serena Williams Building
Architects: Skylab Architecture
General Contractor: Hoffman Construction
Client: Nike
Photographers: Nike, Jeremy Bittermann Photography, and Stephen A. Miller
