The new adidas World of Sports Campus is a former military airbase that turned into a fresh and future-oriented 14.000 m2 campus. The world-renowned sports brand adidas Group commissioned LOLA Landscape Architects to design its headquarters campus expansion in collaboration with consultants and designers. The ambition is to immerse employees and visitors into the sports culture, with a strong focus on outdoor landscapes, spaces, and programming features.
Entering the headquarters the yellow and red crossroads are immediate eye-catchers. These twelve-meter brightly colored “stars” act as squares. They are the connecting fabric in the landscape and form the intersection of where adidas employees meet and many activities take place. A newly designed lake completes the key features of LOLA’s landscape design. The lake visually links the public and private parts of the campus in one view, rendering a fence obsolete and reinforcing the open perspective of adidas with its headquarters.
The landscape design forms a strong visual composition with the crisp facades of the new buildings. Unique public spaces and a swirling new lake provide the adidas World of Sports with a fresh and future-oriented identity and a main gathering place for its employees.
The quintessence of the adidas brand speaks for itself in the campus experience it provides its employees and visitors. The adidas sports cultural immersion starts with two bright yellow and red star-shaped crossroads. These eye-catchers, central to the design, act as a connecting fabric in the landscape and a hub for adidas employees to gather and bond around numerous activities. The clear and colourful design provides intuitive navigation across the campus – like a typical English landscape garden of the 21st century.
The lake is a crucial element in LOLA’s landscape design. Closing the space between the new campus buildings Halftime (COBE architects) and ARENA (Behnisch architects), the lake enhances the views and reflects the architecture, trees and brings lightness. In addition it provides the campus lawns and trees with water in dry spells and it buffers the roof and surface runoff in rainy seasons – while also cooling the building Halftime on hot summer days.
Next to the lake also the planting concept is part of the sustainable approach of the adidas campus. The green and fresh campus lawn is surrounded by a natural green edge. Various native trees and natural meadows provide new habitats for plants and animals.
With inlaid imprints by inspiring individuals such as Zinedine Zidane and Stan Smith, the red Walk of Fame provides an impressive entrance. Numerous programmatic elements can be found on both stars and neighbouring landscapes. For instance, a bicycle shelter seamlessly integrates into the design. The design ensures the importance of sports culture and sports diversity continuously transpires across all levels. From a versatile multi-pitch for football, rugby, and hockey to skate parks and trampolines – adidas employees can blow off steam during a break or between meetings or connect through activities and events.
This campus is adidas without the logo being present, and that is exactly what our client intended: an immersion into the adidas landscape of the future!
