NBA team, the Los Angeles Lakers, is developing a new 120,000ft2 headquarters and training facility in El Segundo, California, consolidating the 16-time NBA champions’ basketball and business operations under a single roof.
Slated for completion in late spring 2017, the project is being headed up by sports and entertainment design firm Rossetti and the Los Angeles office associate architect Perkins+Will. The team currently practices at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, along with the LA D-Fenders and Los Angeles Kings.
“The new Lakers training facility and headquarters is designed for optimum visibility of the site and facility, including from the air,” said Perkins+Will principal Carl Meyer, FAIA. “Passengers flying into LAX will be able to see the building and the Lakers logo on the roof. Executive offices will have views of the basketball courts within the training facility, and also of the Santa Monica Mountains and Hollywood Hills in the distance.”
“The first floor exterior building design acknowledges the efforts of the players, starting with the pavement basketball courts of their youths,” said Tony Reiner, senior design lead at Rossetti. “The second-floor design is inspired by the NBA’s Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, expressed in the rich, reflective and tonal composition of glazing, dark bronze paneling and vertical light bronze signage. We integrated the signage into the design to reflect the Lakers’ partnership with their sponsors.”
The Lakers’ legacy is also realized in the form of a centralized basketball court and player courtyard. The integration of all basketball program areas, including players’ locker rooms, lounge and treatment areas, is organized around these two elements. As reference to a basketball hoop’s rim height, this form is divided with a clerestory window at 10ft, defining basketball on the first floor while providing natural daylight into a private player sanctuary.
Operations, management and executive staff will work from second-floor offices and conference rooms that have views into the ground-floor courts. The Lakers’ development league team, the D-Fenders, will also practice and play on a 750-seat exhibition court. The lobby and other areas will display championship trophies and other team memorabilia, and the design will also embed legacy elements to immerse players in the history of the club.
The building is also designed to meet LEED Gold standards for energy savings. Its façade features integrated signage and a pattern of vertical fins that provide light and visibility while screening direct sun and excess heat.
