PROJECT  Under Armour Global Headquarters

LOCATION  Baltimore, Maryland, US​

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  12/1/2024

Firm(s): Gensler 

Design Team Members: Don Ghent (AIA, NCARB, CSI, LEED AP), Jordan Goldstein (FAIA, FIIDA, NCARB, LEED AP), Vaki Mawema (LEED AP BD+C), JJ Rivers (AIA), Hao Ko (FAIA, LEED AP), Robert Blabolil (AIA, LEED Green Associate), Abigail Brown (FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, NOMA), Kevin Nigri (AIA, NCARB), Caitlin Parker (AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C), Bob Perry (AIA), Anat Gimberg (AIA, LEED AP), Jill Goebel (IIDA, NCIDQ, LEED AP ID+C), Cedric Al Kazzi (LEED Green Associate), Alison Graham (IIDA, NCIDQ, LEED AP), Jessica Maxson (IIDA, RID, NCIDQ, LEED AP ID+C, WELL AP), Taylor Mccabe (LEED Green Associate), John Padussis (AIA, CSI, CDT, CCS, LEED AP, LEED AP BD+C), Roshni Parthasarathy (LEED Green Associate), Ariana Parrish (AIA, NCARB, WELL AP, NOMA), Krithika Sivakumar, Amanda Strawitch (AIA, LEED Green Associate, NCARB), Dana Verbosh (IIDA, NCIDQ, LEED AP), Liz Resenic (LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP), Andrew Koenings (LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP ID+C, WELL AP), Carson Brownlee, Jonny Peterson

Client: Under Armour
Contractor/Construction Manager: The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Ira Cohen

Landscape Architect: Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, Katie Smithson

Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti, Doug Schweizer

Civil Engineer: Kimley-Horn, Emily Gallagher

Mechanical Engineer: Interface Engineering, Inc., Kevin Cahill

Electrical Engineer: Interface Engineering, Inc., Kevin Cahill

Photographer(s): Connie Zhou
Additional project support: Timber Installer / Framer: Seagate Mass Timber
Mass Timber Fabricator: Binderholtz
Mass Timber Structural Engineer: Aspect Structural Engineers
Fire Protection Engineer: Interface Engineering
Acoustic Specialist: Shen Milsom & Wilke
Lighting Designer: Lighting Workshop
Façade Consultant: Curtainwall Design Consulting
Fire & Life Safety Consultant: Jensen Hughes

PROJECT SUMMARY

When Under Armour set out to build its new global headquarters, it became an opportunity to prove a brand dedicated to human performance could hold its architecture to the same high standards. UA’s new 287,000 square foot, five story global headquarters in the Baltimore Peninsula is a bold study in building performance and a model for the future of sustainable and resilient development. Set within a 235-acre campus, the project includes a 1,500-person workplace, athletic performance center, two-story UA Flagship Brand House store, 900 flat-surface parking spaces and a 1,400 seat NCAA regulation track and field facility with a multisport playing field. Designed to achieve LEED Platinum, WELL Platinum, and Net Zero Carbon (inclusive of Net Zero Energy and Embodied Carbon), the headquarters balances engineering excellence with aesthetics to provide a critical response to climate action while expressing the UA brand identity.

The project team implemented multiple design resilience approaches across all facets of the design. Recycled materials, renewable energy goals, and economic strategies support UA’s sustainability commitments while targeting top 1% national performance through ultralow EUI and Net Zero Energy operations. The project is constructed of cross-laminated timber and Glulam panels in place of steel to lower embodied carbon. This sets the baseline for elevating other impactful sustainable design features.

Aesthetically inspired by stadiums around the world, the project advances Under Armour’s environmental, social, and governance commitments through a design approach anchored in the company’s “Act Sustainably” mission. Deeply rooting the design in these commitments established a clear direction from the outset, ensuring alignment with UA’s broader goals for renewable energy and long-term carbon reduction while creating a transformative workplace centered on performance, resilience, and experience.

The biggest exterior challenge was how to create a building with 360-degree visibility that felt connected to the community and represented the brand. The 80-foot North facade structure glows at night from a futuristic polymer coating that wraps the prominent frontage: a landmark designed to be viewed from nearby Interstate 95. The wave-like, paneled front façade canopy is inspired by international sports stadiums and is composed of a novel fluorine-based polymer ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) fabric that acts as a resilient and cost-efficient building skin. The intent of lighting the ETFE is to engage with the community, while the south side of the building is framed in glass and engineered to reduce solar heat gain through the integration of fixed solar shading devices.

The result is a cohesive, high-performance headquarters that demonstrates how design excellence can align environmental responsibility, user experience, and long-term value within a single, integrated vision.

JURY COMMENTS (if applicable)

MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project PDF

IMAGES (Captions and Photographer Credit)
1. Connie Zhou
2. Connie Zhou
3. Connie Zhou
4. Connie Zhou
5. Connie Zhou
6. Connie Zhou
7. Connie Zhou
8. Connie Zhou