Nike unveiled a new building named after tennis icon Serena Williams at their Beaverton, Oregon headquarters yesterday (April 27).
According to the iconic footwear and apparel brand, the Serena Williams Building is the brand’s largest building at 1 million square-feet. It covers the equivalent of 140 full-size tennis courts. The building includes 140,000 square feet of showrooms, a color lab, materials library and a 140-seat theater named after Williams’ daughter Olympia.
In a recent Instagram post, Williams, 40, said having a building at Nike has always been a childhood dream of hers.
“When I was just a kid, I visited the Nike campus and I saw that athletes get buildings,” she wrote to her 14.6 million followers. “After that visit, I knew I wanted two things: to be a Nike athlete and to have a building.”
The LEED Platinum-certified Serena Williams Building demonstrates Nike’s commitment to championing athletes. It will serves as the artistic hub of the Nike headquarters, where the company’s designers will brainstorm, collaborate and create the future of the company.
“Architecture has long been a creative catalyst for Nike,” said Nike’s Chief Design Officer John Hoke in a Nike press release. “A manifestation of form and function following footprint, this building embodies Serena’s legacy as a force for positive change.”
Williams has been associated with Nike for over 18 years and is known for her 23 grand slam titles, making her one of the biggest names in sports.
Only a few female athletes have buildings named after them on the Nike campus, including two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player Mia Hamm and long-distance runner and Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson.
“The whole building takes your breath away,” Williams shared in the Nike press release. “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.”