Project
Soaring High, but Still Connected
Tencent Seafront Towers
Shenzhen, China
A Brand
Brought to Life
Located on a 44-acre site outside Boston, the design of Reebok's headquarters integrates indoor and outdoor athletic spaces with offices to create an environment that is enjoyable for employees and their guests.
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The building houses the company's corporate operations with a capacity of 1600 employees. The design includes a model fitness center, cafeteria, childcare center, conference spaces and a large meeting and exhibit hall.
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Employees and visitors enter the building through a four-story glass circulation spine that offers a multi-level view of the activities and happenings that take place within and outside the building.
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The transparency of the spine visually and metaphorically breaks down barriers, blurring indoor and outdoor activities, integrating athletics with the workplace and constantly reinforces the company's identity.
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The curtain wall along the spine tilts from 15 degrees near the base to a more dramatic 43 degrees near the top circulation space. A horizontal tension truss system eliminates the need for an obstructing steel structure.
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Throughout the day, the interior and exterior athletic facilities thrive with the activity of employees whose firsthand knowledge of sports helps to hone innovative solutions for the equipment they design.
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After more than a decade of use, the building and the site have become a place where energy and excitement build, revitalizing Reebok's business culture and brand identity in a highly competitive marketplace.
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The building expresses conceptual ideas at grand and intimate scales. The slanted glass façade directs people to the sky, but the building is also grounded in the material world with maple floors and concrete treads.
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“ The new headquarters has changed the way our people think about our business. Now they live the brand experience. This place feels alive and that has impacted our product innovation. ”Paul Fireman Reebok Founder
NBBJ helped Reebok—a global athletic retailer with $5.5 billion in net income—reinvent its corporate identity through the design of a new headquarters. The architecture links employees and their activities with Reebok’s products and intended uses. As a result, the campus embodies Reebok’s fitness culture with offices and physical activity spaces that have access to nature, daylight and fresh air.
Employees and guests are welcomed into the building via an expansive atrium. Supported by pre-cast elements anchored in the ground, the curving spine floats above the site, branching into four sections housing office neighborhoods. From within the spine, one can see and hear the indoor basketball court activities, look into a glass tunnel that houses the running track that enters the building from outside, or gaze at the landscape to view product testing on sporting fields.
The interior and exterior athletic facilities thrive with the activity of employees whose first-hand knowledge of sports helps to create solutions for the equipment they design. This project is a testament to the fact that buildings can help define and coalesce a company's understanding of itself. The campus is a place that integrates people's lifestyles with the company's identity, and inspires employees to push themselves with the same energy that is embodied in the architecture.
Awards and Publications
Awards
The Chicago Athenaeum, American Architecture Awards
Boston Society of Architects, Honor Award for Design Excellence
BOMA, Office Building of the Year
AIA Seattle, Award of Commendation
Publications
Architectural Record, "Fast-track construction becomes the norm,” February 2002
The 21st Century Office, "Reebok Headquarters,” January 2003
