Adidas’ headquarters for their North and South American operations is an adaptive reuse
of a former medical center located on an 11-acre site with outstanding views of
the Willamette River and the Portland skyline, but bisected by a high volume
roadway. The design incorporates the challenges of this complex urban site to
create a coherent corporate village, a friendly neighbor, and an integral part
of the city.
The team
developed the site as a unified whole. A central plaza replaces a former
loading dock between two existing buildings to form the main entrance and
generate a wedge of public space around which the project is organized. Bike
and pedestrian corridors extending from the plaza across the campus provide
outdoor circulation between buildings for employees and ensure public access to
a popular bus route on the roadway.
The campus
buildings conceal parking below new construction, sports fields and plantings,
resolving the site’s challenging topography. A high performance curtain wall
clads the new buildings and added as accents on the renovated structures
further integrates the complex and acts as environmental wayfinding in the
Village. Taking colors from the Olympic rings, the cladding also reflects
Adidas’s commitment to the world of sport.