Serena Williams praised the effort that went into the building’s construction and hoped that it would inspire people to be their best selves.
Serena Williams has broken more records than any of her contemporaries, going from a young girl in Compton who was trained by her father to one of the greatest athletes of all time. Between her first US Open victory in 1999 and her last, in 2014, there was a 15-year gap, demonstrating the durability of this one-of-a-kind champion. Williams has a staggering 73 career titles, including 23 Grand Slam titles, including seven Australian Open victories, making her the most successful player in the tournament’s history, eight Miami Open titles, and 11 appearances in Wimbledon finals.
The sensational American tennis player has got one more achievement to add to her legacy.
As the film King Richard, which is based on the Williams family’s lives, continues to make waves, Nike has opened a Serena Williams-designed facility in Oregon. Serena Williams is honored with a 1-million-square-foot building at Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. The building is for Consumer Creation employees, who can use the 200,000 square feet of lab space to explore new product concepts.
Williams stated in an Instagram post on Wednesday that having a building at Nike was a childhood ambition of hers.
She also said that having her building is “beyond an honor” and that seeing the result of her “blood, sweat, and many tears, many trophies” gave her goosebumps.
“Can you believe it? I have a BUILDING Y’ALL!!! This is CRAZY!!!” she concluded.
Williams praised the effort that went into the building’s construction and hoped that it would inspire people to be their best selves.
The Serena Williams Building has a 140-seat theatre named after her daughter Olympia, which is the largest on the Nike campus. Nike’s design, insights, and product-merchandising teams will collaborate in the new facility. To highlight the star’s affinities, several of his favorites, such as the color purple and the rose, have been utilized as a part of the design. Four restaurants have also been created, each themed after one of the four Grand Slams. The 23 major championships won by the Americans are represented by 23 glass columns featuring pieces of Williams memorabilia. The tripartite structure of the building is inspired by Williams’ magnificence and refers to the goddess Nike’s wings. Nike’s commitment to promoting athletes is demonstrated through the LEED Platinum-certified Serena Williams Building.
Other buildings on Nike’s sprawling campus have been named after athletes who have signed sponsorship deals with the brand, notably the LeBron James Building in 2019. However, only a few female athletes have buildings named after them on campus, including two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player Mia Hamm and long-distance runner Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson.
From 1987 through 2004, Hamm played as a forward for the United States national women’s soccer team. In addition to her two Olympic gold medals, she won two FIFA World Cup victories in 1991 and 1999. The 449,060 square foot building bearing her name was completed in 2000. In 1984, Benoit Samuelson competed in the first-ever Olympic marathon for women, which she won. She held the American record for the fastest woman in the Chicago Marathon for 32 years after achieving her sixth first-place finish.
In the press release, “architecture has long been a creative catalyst for Nike.” said John Hoke, Nike’s chief design officer, who joined the company as a retail designer back in 1992. “A manifestation of form and function following footprint, this building embodies Serena’s legacy as a force for positive change.”
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