The Serena Williams Building at Nike’s world HQ in Beaverton

By Editorial Staff - 2 August 2022

The largest building at Nike’s world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, is named after the Queen of the Court. The recently completed Serena Williams Building, designed by Skylab Architecture, covers an area of over 970 thousand square feet (90,000 m²), equivalent to 140 tennis courts, and can accommodate 2750 staff. The Portland-based architects oversaw the entire project, from architecture to interior design and branding integration.

“The whole building takes your breath away. Every element, wherever you go, is an opportunity to be inspired. I hope this building encourages people to bring out the best of themselves and to dream bigger than they thought possible.” – Serena Williams.

The three challenges of the Serena Williams Building

Serena Williams Building - Skylab Architecture © Jeremy Bittermann, courtesy of Skylab Architecture

According to Skylab Architecture, the project presented three main challenges: creating a prototype for a design-focused workspace that promotes collaboration on a large scale; leveraging regenerative principles to design for both the site and building occupants through a partnership with nature; capturing the sport ethos, Nike’s heritage, and the spirit of Serena Williams, the warrior champion and the building’s namesake.

Serena Williams Building - Skylab Architecture © Jeremy Bittermann, courtesy of Skylab Architecture

The SW Building, inaugurated this year to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the brand, comprises four parts: an underground car park 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 entire campus that connects the different wings of the complex. Besides offices, the building’s interior has a showroom, a materials library, a color lab, and restaurants. There’s also Olympia, a two-story theater named after the American tennis player’s daughter. And the building has a lot of other references to Serena Williams and her wins, from works of art that depict her to architectural elements that resemble, say, a tennis racket or net. In fact, the entire structure is sprinkled with tributes to the Queen of the Court.

>>> Discover Hayward Field, the stadium where Nike tested its first shoes.

A LEED Platinum–certified building focused on sustainability and user wellbeing

Serena Williams Building - Skylab Architecture © Jeremy Bittermann, courtesy of Skylab Architecture

In the Serena Williams Building, the historic sportswear brand can, for the first time, go from sketch to prototype to final design to retail fixture in the one place – a place dedicated to creativity that brings together the company’s various teams under the one roof. But the building is also about sustainability and the wellbeing of its occupants. With courtyards, gardens, squares, and a tennis court, the project has numerous outdoor spaces for staff as well as breakout areas that aim to create connections and interactions between people, and, therefore, keep this huge complex on a human scale.

Serena Williams Building - Skylab Architecture © Stephen Miller, courtesy of Skylab Architecture

A series of measures contribute to energy saving, including a photovoltaic system, rainwater recovery system, and the use of locally sourced and recycled materials. Also, to mitigate the project’s impact on the environment, the previous access road was buried, along with parking and loading areas. All these measures allowed the building to get LEED Platinum certification, the highest level attainable.

>>> Read an extract from the article about the expansion of the Adidas East Village in Portland, Oregon, in THE PLAN 139.