Sportswear giant Adidas has revealed its plans to transform its German headquarters into a huge leisure campus, including four star-shaped public spaces promoting exercise and outdoor activity.
Dutch studio LOLA Landscape Architects have designed the outdoor component of the World of Sports campus in the town of Herzogenaurach, which will provide a canvas for employees to test Adidas products for activities ranging from football and running to skateboarding and cycling.
Athletes, journalists and retailers will be welcomed to use the campus in its first phase, before it gradually morphs into the fabric of the city to become a new public space open to all. An array of buildings, gardens, landscapes and monuments will eventually demonstrate the growth of the company over time.
The first phase of the project will begin in 2017. The extensive landscape – with a lake at its heart – will be developed in parallel with the creation of two new company buildings – HALFTIME by COBE Architects and ARENA by Behnisch Architects.
The four star-shaped public areas will be located in the centre of the new buildings, offering lively and engaging routes through the campus. Each will be carefully designed around a different theme and a set of activities, and will feature facilities such as sports pitches, bike parking and seating areas.
“They are like buildings without a roof; and each of them, with a distinct look and feel, becomes a beacon and way finder on the campus,” said LOLA in a statement. “They are the points where sports and work-related activities condense.”
Speaking about the long-term plan to integrate the complex with the wider town, LOLA said, “In an incremental way the campus will be further developed with both interior and exterior spaces [that merge with the urban area]. The new buildings are merely covered squares, and the landscapes are like open air buildings.”
The project is being developed in collaboration with technical landscape consultant WGF Objekt and engineers WPW.
Adidas is not the only sports design company to adapt its headquarters to better reflect its focus on fitness and leisure. Earlier this year, Nike launched
a 3.2m sq ft (297,000sq m) expansion of its campus in Oregon to add sporting facilities, mixed-use space and new offices, with architecture inspired by human movement.
