Morphosis has been tapped to design the new corporate home of lifestyle athletic wear retailer lululemon in Vancouver, Canada. The new building, known as the Store Support Centre, will serve as the headquarters for lululemon’s global brand.
“We are incredibly excited about the next chapter of our story both globally and in our hometown of Vancouver. Our new Store Support Centre will allow us to consolidate our offices and retain, attract, and grow our talent as we deliver on our strategic growth plans,” said Susan Gelinas, SVP of People & Culture at lululemon, in a press statement.
The 13-story center is intended to be intimately connected to the surrounding environment. Both interior and exterior spaces will emphasize a focus on community collaboration and innovation. The building’s exterior façade will feature a high-performance brise-soleil system to limit solar heat gain, which will ultimately reduce energy consumption, modulate the interior climate, and open up views of the center’s scenic surroundings. Interior floors, designed in collaboration with L.A.-based architecture and interior design firm Clive Wilkinson Architects and Vancouver’s Francl Architecture, will be centered around a central atrium carved out of the massing to deliver light deep into the building. The atrium will also serve as a social hub, with stairs wrapping around it that connect to each floor and a gathering space for employees. The Store Support Centre will also include a public plaza at the ground level to help integrate it into the larger community, along with retail space and public art along the Great Northern Way.
To fully reflect lululemon’s dedication to health and wellness, the design includes abundant access to sunlight, green spaces, and landscaped terraces. lululemon has also enlisted the help of sustainability and wellness consultant Integral to ensure a holistic approach to sustainable design.
In a press statement, Morphosis described its excitement regarding the partnership: “We are thrilled to be partnering with lululemon on this project and joining them at an important time in the evolution of the company,” said Thom Mayne, founder and Design Director of Morphosis.
No completion date or budget has been provided yet.
