Nike Unveils 1 Million Sq Ft Serena Williams Building For Creative Design

You read that right. Nike has unveiled its largest-ever space dedicated to design and creativity, the Serena Williams (SW) Building, which covers 1,000,000 square feet, or the size of 140 full-size tennis courts!

As the largest office at Nike World Headquarters, the brand’s Customer Creation teams will have ample space to test the most innovative of designs, especially with 200,000-square-feet of laboratory space shared among its women’s, men’s, kids’, apparel, and footwear products. 

The incredible building was designed in collaboration with Skylab Architecture, and features specialty spaces including 140,000 square feet of showrooms, a footwear materials library, a color lab, and a two-story, 140-seater Olympia Theater—named after the athlete’s baby daughter. 

Even more impressive, these spaces are equipped with 180-degree wraparound visual technology, allowing teams to project creative designs, data, or 3D models at never-before-seen scales. 

“Architecture has long been a creative catalyst for Nike. A manifestation of form and function following footprint, this building embodies Serena’s legacy as a force for positive change,” said John Hoke, Chief Design Officer at Nike. 

In addition to designing a space that’ll be a bustling idea hub for creatives for years to come, the brand took care to ensure the building was constructed in line with the most sustainable of practices, something close to Williams’ heart. 

Apart from securing LEED Platinum certification, more than 20% of the building was constructed using recycled content that was harvested and manufactured locally. Plus, there are 648 solar panels installed to reduce energy consumption by approximately 41%.

In terms of biodiversity, the SW Building is situated on federally-protected wetland and was specially designed to cohabit with the surrounding environment and preserve the thousands of native plant species. 

The 23 Grand Slam single winner was certainly impressed, saying: “The whole building takes your breath away. Every element, everywhere 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,” she added. 

Take a virtual tour of the stunning architectural complex here. 

[via Highsnobiety and Nike, images via Jeremy Bittermann / Courtesy of Nike]