adidas Performance Zone
Though the Performance Zone (PZ) is the smaller of two new buildings on adidas’s Portland campus (32,000 sq ft compared to the GOLD Building’s 182,000), it represents, with the soccer pitch it faces, one of the company’s core beliefs: that sport has the power to change lives. This idea informs brand gestures throughout both buildings; but in the PZ, it is not only a brand concept—it’s the function of the space. Far more than a plug-in amenity, this boutique fitness center shaped by adidas’s philosophy and the design team of Studio O+A and LEVER Architecture embodies the notion that individual improvement improves the culture, and vice versa. It’s a place for adidas employees to stoke their energies and hone their skills. The PZ is a comprehensive collection of specialty spaces—workout room, weight room, yoga and dance studio, cycling studio, juice bar—drawn together by a design that celebrates fitness as a branch of wellness and wellness as a virtue that contributes to the universal good. adidas has always recognized sport as a cultural value, and the Performance Zone makes it part of the workplace ecosystem in a way that feels unique.
Though the Performance Zone (PZ) is the smaller of two new buildings on adidas’s Portland campus (32,000 sq ft compared to the GOLD Building’s 182,000), it represents, with the soccer pitch it faces, one of the company’s core beliefs: that sport has the power to change lives. This idea informs brand gestures throughout both buildings; but in the PZ, it is not only a brand concept—it’s the function of the space. Far more than a plug-in amenity, this boutique fitness center shaped by adidas’s philosophy and the design team of Studio O+A and LEVER Architecture embodies the notion that individual improvement improves the culture, and vice versa. It’s a place for adidas employees to stoke their energies and hone their skills. The PZ is a comprehensive collection of specialty spaces—workout room, weight room, yoga and dance studio, cycling studio, juice bar—drawn together by a design that celebrates fitness as a branch of wellness and wellness as a virtue that contributes to the universal good. adidas has always recognized sport as a cultural value, and the Performance Zone makes it part of the workplace ecosystem in a way that feels unique.
City Portland, OR
Year 2021
Size 31,320 sq ft
Team Primo Orpilla, Lisa Bieringer, Mindi Weichman, Elizabeth Vereker, Chase Lunt, Lauren Perich, Sean Houghton, Alex Pokas, Lauren Harrison, Marbel Padilla, Kaylen Parker, Chelsea Hedrick, Sarah Cotchin
Awards 2022 ARCHITECT Architecture & Interiors Awards – Honor Award, Interiors: Large Office; 2022 WoodWorks Wood Design Award – Jury's Choice; 2022 Wood Design & Building Awards – Merit Award
Photographer Garrett Rowland (Interior), Jeremy Bitterman (Exterior)
Workout Ethic
The entrance to the Performance Zone maintains the stadium motif—this time, from the perspective of the athletes. Behind a mesh wall, the sounds of people working out in the Performance Zone gym make clear to visitors which building they have entered.
Talk of the Locker Room
Designed to refresh and energize, the adidas locker room combines a soothing palette with motivational quotes from adidas athletes hidden like Easter eggs in lockers, on benches, and even on mirrors.
Muscular Messaging
Throughout the gym, graphics are used to support the function and energy level of each space.
Which Way to the Beer?
O+A’s brand designers were inspired by the large-scale, high contrast signage in sports stadiums as well as the stark wire mesh and concrete of arena transition spaces. But no, the Performance Zone does not offer beer.
Energy Boost
Power racks and punching bags are the destination amenities here, but it’s the giant custom countdown clock that gives the space its palpable energy.
Breathe In
In contrast to the hard-edged aesthetics of the gym, adidas’s yoga and dance studio is all about melting into the surrounding treetops and finding inner peace. The design assists that process with soft lighting, mirrors, a seamless rubber floor, and natural light through sheer draperies.
Purposeful Repurposing
With its corner windows and views of the river, this executive conference room needs no further enhancement, but the table is an eyecatcher, nonetheless. It’s custom-made from a basketball court reclaimed from a local college gym.
Healthy Greens
Custom tables fabricated from trees felled to clear the construction site are tagged to indicate their origins. It’s all part of adidas’s commitment to sustainability and wellness, as exemplified in the Juice Bar’s richly biophilic design.
On Top of the World
The rooftop lounge of the Performance Zone affords a view of the neighborhood, the river, and the city. It’s an exhilarating yet humbling reminder of how we’re all connected.
Putting It All in Practice
Opposite the GOLD Building with its offices and conference rooms, the Performance Zone looks out from the other side of the pitch with a similar philosophy of work, sport, and design—but perhaps with a faster heartbeat.