adidas HALFTIME

010 cobe adidas halftime exterior 010 cobe adidas halftime exterior
Under one
roof

Year: First prize in competition 2014, completed 2018

Client: adidas Pension Trust

Program: Conference center, restaurant and showroom

Size: 15,500 m²

The world-famous company with the three iconic stripes has opened a huge and striking new building that forms part of its corporate headquarters, “World of Sports”, in the city of Herzogenaurach in southern Germany. The building, named HALFTIME, totals 15,500 m². In addition to a canteen for all HQ employees, the building contains meeting rooms, a conference center and a showroom where the company’s high-profile brand ambassadors, such as world-famous footballers and tennis players, can stop by to see the latest new designs, collections and ideas. The flexible and multi-functional architectural design makes it possible to transform and modify the building for varying purposes. To accommodate the many internal and public functions, HALFTIME is designed as a versatile multi-purpose building that brings as many of the company’s activities and functions as possible together under one roof. The huge rhomboid roof covers the entire building like an enormous carpet, bringing staff, visitors and brand ambassadors together in the same building and thus enabling more and wider contacts.

350 cobe adidas logo
040 cobe adidas halftime diagram

To accommodate the many internal and public functions that HALFTIME includes, the building is versatile and multi-purpose, bringing the adidas family together under one roof.

050 cobe adidas halftime diagram

In addition to a canteen for all HQ employees, the building contains meeting rooms, a conference center and a showroom where the company’s high-profile brand ambassadors can stop by to see the latest designs, collections and ideas.

One roof – one family
030 cobe adidas halftime view

Employees, brand ambassadors and visitors – also known as the adidas family – are all users of HALFTIME, continuously inspiring each other in the development of new products under the adidas group brand.

060 cobe adidas halftime diagram

The HALFTIME building – the only public building on campus.

adidas HALFTIME was designed with a holistic approach to staff relations and environment, underlining the adidas philosophy of viewing a healthy body and spirit as one.

070 cobe adidas halftime roof
080 cobe adidas halftime roof

The design is based on creating a pavilion in the park. A large roof structure hovers over the landscape and creates a seamless transition between inside and out. Underneath the roof, the canteen and conference areas are organized as an urban space, creating informal meeting and working places in between functions in a non-hierarchical and democratic work atmosphere.

090 cobe adidas halftime interior

The roof consists of concrete beams, each 16 meters long and weighing 28 tons, which add up to a total length of 3.2 kilometers.

Fluent transition
between inside
and outside
100 cobe adidas halftime roof aereal view

One third of the roof is covered by skylights flooding the interior spaces with daylight. In addition, a large percentage of the roof is covered by solar panels.

101 cobe adidas halftime roof

Designed from the philosophy of creating a pavilion in a park, the roof hovers above a flexible and dynamic interior where public and staff functions meet.

110 cobe adidas halftime yellow path
120 cobe adidas halftime roof shadow
130 cobe adidas halftime roof detail
140 cobe adidas halftime roof detail
150 cobe adidas halftime roof cafe

The building contains a public conference center, an employee restaurant and a showroom, all arranged into an internal public space. The different sections can be joined into a single space with a capacity of up to 5,000 people or can be used separately in various configurations by means of large movable and turnable wall partitions. This flexible solution lets adidas adapt the space to the company’s needs as they evolve and vary over time.

160 cobe adidas halftime hall
170 cobe adidas halftime hall

Floor-to-ceiling windows on every side provide a visual connection to the outside and flood the building with natural light. Rainwater is collected in the nearby lake and used to cool down the building through an innovative cooling system.

180 cobe adidas halftime plants wall

Interior winter gardens, green walls and floor-to-ceiling glass panels create a natural and open atmosphere for anyone visiting or working at adidas HALFTIME.

190 cobe adidas halftime roof panels

The design makes use of the natural topography of the terrain and also continues this theme inside by enabling a split-level plan for public functions. The roof floats over the landscape to create a unified whole. The structure of the new building connects the north and south sections of the campus, both inside and out.

200 cobe adidas halftime exterior
210 cobe adidas halftime exterior cafe

The building has received LEED Gold certification.

Creating the right
atmosphere reflecting
the unique adidas culture

The building is designed to be easily accessible throughout for people with reduced mobility. The main entrance, with its large foyer, is located on the north-eastern side of the building. Easy access from the canteen to outdoor areas on the south side of the building invites employees to take their lunch break outside during the summer.

220 cobe adidas halftime canteen
230 cobe adidas halftime shop
360 cobe adidas interior

The interior is divided into different zones, each characterized by a distinct identity and featuring custom-made furniture. To make the canteen area more welcoming and easier to navigate, it is subdivided into areas designated for shorter and longer visits.

240 cobe adidas halftime theater
370 cobe adidas interior

A key task was to create the right atmosphere to reflect the unique adidas culture. We did this, in part, by matching the different needs with different sports, making room for big ideas and large gestures as well as a touch of humor. In addition to the event hall, which is designed as a gym, you can hold meetings at the bottom of a bright blue swimming pool, in a locker room or in the adidas founder Adi Dasler’s old workshop, complete with tools.

250 cobe adidas halftime conference room
260 cobe adidas halftime conference room lamps

With HALFTIME, Cobe has designed an inspiring, dynamic and unusual work environment that offers both formal and informal meeting places and networking opportunities for staff, visitors and brand ambassadors alike.

270 cobe adidas halftime conference room blue
280 cobe adidas halftime room green
290 cobe adidas halftime room ropes
300 cobe adidas halftime room ropes detail

The building contains 12 workshop rooms, each representing a different sport venue, and a large event hall with room for 1,500 people, designed as a gym with old-school wall bars.

310 cobe adidas halftime collage

Inside, accessibility is promoted by wayfinding features and a consistent signage system that provides information on three levels, ranging from quick overview and orientation to more detailed directions. The wayfinding system is integrated into the architecture and designed in materials that match the athletic value base of the adidas brand.

320 cobe adidas halftime collage
330 cobe adidas halftime façade

Location: Herzogenaurach, Germany

Client: adidas Pension Trust

Program: Conference center, restaurant and showroom

Size: 15,500 m²

Year: First prize in competition 2014, completed 2018

Awards: Iconic Awards 2015 – Visionary Architecture, Red Dot Communication & Brands Award 2019, ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards 2020 Finalist, Iconic Awards 2020 – Architects’ Client of the Year, Dezeen Awards 2020 Longlist, Der Deutsche Lichtdesign-Preis 2021 - Sonderpreis Tageslicht

Certifications: LEED Gold

Competition team: Cobe, CLMAP, Knippers Helbig, Transsolar, Cobe Berlin

Design and execution team: ARGE Cobe & CLMAP (lead consultant), Knippers Helbig, Fact, Bartenbach, Soda, PMI, HMP

Interior design: Cobe

Wayfinding and signage: Cobe & EIGA

The HALFTIME Chair: Cobe and HAY

Team: Alexander Forsch, Birk Folke Daugaard, Carlos Ramos Fernandez, Caroline Nagel, Clement Bue Maali, Danielle N. Eskildsen Dan Stubbergaard, Freya Dorbritz, Gina Perier, Greta Tiedje, Javier Barriuso Domingo, Johan Lund Pedersen, Karoline Liedtke, Kasper Larsen, Laura Diestel, Magda Bykowska, Maria Aufegger, Marianne Filtenborg, Matilda Andersson, Milada Vorzova, Milan Milenkovski, Morten Andersen, Morten Emil Engel, Navid Christensen, Nika Koraca, Ole Storjohann, Rasmus Hjortshøj, Rosa Bui, Ted Schauman, Thomas Krarup, Ulrich Pohl, Yannick Courtins.

Photographer: Rasmus Hjortshøj – COAST