Center of the Running Universe
Brooks is a titan of the running world. Competitors’ product lines span across a variety of sports and streetwear, but Brooks has spent 110 years inventing and innovating the very best of running gear. Their customers are elite performance track and field athletes, cross country distance runners, your coworker who’s running her first marathon, and your dad who just needs a little more support and stability on his weekly jog. They invest in running communities across America and the globe, making the sport accessible for all. A new building on the Seattle flagship campus takes on the same spirit of transformation and attention to detail that has made Brooks who they are today, while keeping the focus on the community and what they’re creating.
Project Vision
The building itself encourages movement with graphic interventions located not just in large gathering spaces or work areas, but in the corridors, byways, and stairs. The smallest of details are all relevant to the community culture, product materials, company history, and local landscapes, but the bigger picture highlights the vibrant, fun, and energetic spirit that can only belong to Brooks.
A sunshade to the right dithers out on the adjacent wall to reveal a map of local running trails. The last of the wood slats serve as a map key.
Sean Airhart
In an open atrium, fine linework murals show landmarks in the Fremont neighborhood. Floor graphics form a topographic map of surrounding land and waterways.
Sean Airhart
Design + Execution
Components of the work are utilized in unconventional ways; The reception desk features perforated patterns inspired by shoe fabrics, backed by a logomark rendered on 300+ linear feet of factory-sourced proprietary shoelaces, and a concrete column wordmark.
An architectural window screen composed of articulated wood slats runs up the staircase and into the second floor lobby, dithering out on the adjacent wall to reveal a map of twenty popular running routes and trails across Seattle and nearby suburbs. Shoelaces and an icon trail marker mark each route on the map at the left of the wall, while corresponding direct printed slats on the right list details such as distance, elevation gain, and a link to the trail on the Strava running app.
At the heart of the office, a three-story open atrium connects kitchenettes and other gathering spaces, with Fremont neighborhood wall graphics, topographic floor graphics and a survey marker listing Brooks HQ as the Center of the Running Universe. Wall graphics located in nearby corridors extend Brooks’ featured slogan of ‘Let’s Run There’ into three individual messages that honor Brooks’ history: Let’s Run Together, Run Happy, and From Here to There.
Three parent graphics span across floors, expanding Brooks’ “Let’s Run There” slogan into a tryptic series that unites printed and stencil painted walls.
Sean Airhart
Additional stencil painted wall graphics detail technical innovations and fundamental knowledge about Brooks’ products and company culture.
Sean Airhart
Every detail matters: Elevator identifiers are inspired by lane lines, a linework figure is running to the restroom, and focus and wellness rooms feature custom printed patterns from Brooks designs.
Sean Airhart
Linework patterns representing elevation, speed, and running tracks seamlessly cross from print into stencil paint on the concrete walls. In other hallway areas, the stencil painting continues, touting technical innovations and fundamental knowledge such as the anatomy of a shoe.
Respite and wellness rooms have unique custom patterns pulled from performance fabrics and shoe treads, printed onto acoustic sound panels made of recycled polyester felt. The restroom signs incorporate running figures as a nod to identity signs at the original headquarters building. Identifiers in elevator lobbies are custom numbers inspired by the motion of a track sprint.
In the café, mural artist Shogo Ota hand painted an easter-egg filled linework mural highlighting running communities in Seattle and across the world, while a wall of clocks paired with Brooks’ ‘Let’s Run There’ slogan honors all five Brooks offices around the globe. Even stairwells received a series of custom painted geometric graphics, referencing the peaks and valleys of running a mountain trail at sunset. A timeline wall brings in a century of history, displayed on rails reminiscent of track lanes, with a bright pop of Brooks blue symbolizing the chalked blue line that charts the most efficient path on a marathon.
A custom mural from Shogo Ota highlights running culture. Geometric stairwells abstract the peaks and valleys of a run. Global clocks feature five Brooks offices around the world.
Sean Airhart
A running track inspired timeline wall features 100 years of shoes and news.
Sean Airhart
Project Details
Design Team
Eric LeVine (principal in charge)
Mandy Seever (project manager)
Elliot Rupestock (lead designer)
Christina Sakura (lead designer)
Duncan Bennett (designer)
Yusuke Ito (designer)
Mara Stokke (designer)
Collaborators
Creo Industrial Arts (physical fabrication)
Photo Credits
Sean Airhart; all images copyright NBBJ (photography)
Josh Harding; copyright NBBJ (videography)
Open Date
February 2025