COBE to complete new adidas flagship building in germany

a contest was held for the design of a new adidas flagship building, for which danish architecture office COBE has been announced as the winner. called ‘meet & eat’, the facility will bring together a public conference center, an employee restaurant, and a showroom on the adidas group headquarters – known as ‘world of sports’ – in the german city of herzogenaurach. the envisioned structure takes a diamond shape in plan, and features a distinctive roof of vertical concrete fins enclosed with glass. with an initial scheme selected, the project will now move towards design development and realization, with a completion date expected for 2018.

the 11,000 sqm facility takes a diamond shape in plan, with a roof composed of vertical concrete fins

the robust and transparent canopy provides ample daylight throughout the interiors, while the building’s curtain walls are able to open along the majority of their length to the outside. the design arranges small winter gardens throughout the facility in order to integrate nature with the programs and provide a place for employees and visitors to gather and relax when the weather is too cold to open the perimeter envelope.

the perimeter is wrapped in glass curtain walls, which can open entirely around the building’s perimeter

through their design, COBE sought to highlight the core values of the adidas group: ‘performance, passion, integrity, and diversity’. to expand on this basis, founder and creative director behind the scheme, dan stubbergaard, states, ‘the adidas brand has always been known for technique and functionality, and we have designed a building that reflects and encapsulates these values. adidas meet & eat will house many functions, both internal and public, and therefore we have created a design that above all is multifunctional and flexible. a design that allows for the building to change and adjust to the different social contexts that the building will house.’

in receiving the commission, COBE was selected over 29 other teams including REX and zaha hadid.

internal gardens integrate nature throughout the flagship building

dan stubbergaard continues by saying, ‘adidas meet & eat merges with the landscape’s existing terrain, creating an open, green and welcoming building that gathers all members of the adidas family — both employees, sport stars and visitors — as well as multiple functions and flows under one single roof. the iconic roof rests like a carpet covering the building, connecting all functions and creating a building flooded with light.’

the visually porous canopy provides a luminous interior environment

the facility will host conferences and events

beyond the conference center, ‘meet & eat’ also houses a restaurant and showroom

with a design selected, the project moves towards realization with a completion date expected for 2018

trees emerge from the roof plane

site plan

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project info:

location: herzogenaurach, germany
program: conference center, employee restaurant, and showroom
size: 11,000 sqm
status: 1st prize in international competition in 2014, expected completed end of 2018
budget: ~ 30 m. EUR
client: adidas group
architecture: COBE / dan stubbergaard, caroline nagel, laura diestel, ole storjohann, ted schauman, navid christensen, birk folke daugaard, freya dorbritz, milada vorzova, johan lund pedersen
engineering: knippers helbig
climate engineering: transsolar
consultant: COBE berlin