“Nike’s European headquarters in the Netherlands is an impressive testament to Nike’s commitment to sustainability. The building’s roof collects rainwater, which is then used for lush gardens and toilets, saving more than 4 million litres of water every year. There’s also a revolutionary heating and cooling water reservoir that uses the sun to heat in the winter, and the winter cold to cool the building all summer. But perhaps most impressively, Nike used about 8,000 recycled training shoes to create its tennis and basketball courts.”

The Nike Campus, situated 1 hour south of Amsterdam in Hilversum, is located on the site Which boasts a grandstand pavilion designed by Willem Dudok for the 1928 Olympics. The site was formerly used as a horse trotting track and sports facilities. Retaining Hilversum’s once flamboyant horse and running tracks for the campus site has been crucial to the Nike’s image.

A central axis that visually connects the Dudok pavilion and an important church steeple initiated the building planning and natural habitat landscaping. Phase 1 includes four office buildings that are situated around the central axis with a Commons Building adjacent to the trotting track at the West end.

Ms. Lee primary focus was the design for the Commons Building, inclusive of the gymnasium, basketball court, running tracks, aerobic rooms, the Nike store, restaurants and a conference center. The Commons was conceived as two lightweight pavilions perpendicular to the central axis and connected with a fully transparent glazed entry court through which the Dudok pavilion is visible from the entire campus.

The campus side of the Commons building boasts a new ramped section of the original running track that is elevated about the glass central court. Ms. Lee opened the pavilion facades strategically to allow for a runner to see and be seen from the basketball courts and conference rooms at upper levels.

The public areas and atriums for the office buildings were also designed by Ms. Lee. Research on renewable materials and lighting, atrium structure and glazing, and daylighting alternatives was integral to her work.