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Project

adidas

An energised workplace fit for a global brand

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Manchester

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72,000

sqft

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Workplace

Manchester

72,000

sqft

Workplace

Outcomes

Challenge

Deliver a performance-enhancing Manchester HQ fit for one of the world’s greatest sporting brands and its people.

Insight

Working closely with the adidas team over 10 months, we co-created a workplace designed to energise and inspire its employees.

Solution

An iconic HQ that successfully reflects the brand, its products and the needs of the people working there.

People

Deliver a performance-enhancing Manchester HQ fit for one of the world’s greatest sporting brands and its people.

Place

Working closely with the adidas team over 10 months, we co-created a workplace designed to energise and inspire its employees.

Planet

An iconic HQ that successfully reflects the brand, its products and the needs of the people working there.
Deliver a performance-enhancing Manchester HQ fit for one of the world’s greatest sporting brands and its people.
Working closely with the adidas team over 10 months, we co-created a workplace designed to energise and inspire its employees.
An iconic HQ that successfully reflects the brand, its products and the needs of the people working there.
People using the social area in adidas Manchester office
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With a deep-rooted connection to sport, health and wellbeing, adidas needed an HQ that would reflect its mission and enable its teams to excel.

A performance-enhancing HQ for adidas

adidas prides itself on designing and developing the best products for health and wellness, and creating an unrivalled experience for its customers. It wanted to offer the same experience to its staff, to energise and inspire the 460-strong team and improve their performance and wellbeing. Whilst we understood the brand from the outside looking in, we had to go deeper to transform their workplace from within.

Co-creation always delivers beyond the brief

To deliver a place that truly ‘energises and inspires’ adidas’ employees, we needed to understand what moves and motivates them. We worked closely with the adidas team over 10 months to co-create a workplace that would encourage communication and collaboration, drive innovation and boost productivity.

We engaged employees throughout the entire process, with ‘design influencers’ appointed from every level of the business, to ensure the space was fully designed around the people using it. We connected people and place, fuelling the infectious energy that helps give adidas its competitive edge.

Activity-based working allows people to work at their best

That’s why everything we developed for adidas not only reflects the brand and its products but the needs of the people working there. As well as quiet places for focused work and open areas for creativity and collaboration, we designed a huge central ‘arena’ for informal meetings, breakouts and work scrums, taking inspiration from the world of sport to connect people to the brand.

People working in the adidas Manchester office
People working in a booth in adidas Manchester office

Change with minimal disruption

We planned and managed the project in multiple phases whilst the building was occupied, communicating with the teams throughout. At each stage, anticipation and excitement grew as people could see their workplace being transformed – and enjoy the benefits straightaway.

“We now have the right space and facilities to get the job done faster, which will help us to maintain a competitive edge.”

  • Tony Cooke, Vice President HR, North Europe, adidas

A place to live and breathe the brand

adidas wanted to transform its Manchester office into a workplace where people can live, breathe and experience the brand and its products.

Health and wellbeing are at the heart of its proposition, and we kept this in mind at every stage. The end result is a workplace that’s not only fit for purpose but fit for great people to do great things. A workplace that can be as iconic as the brand itself.

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