In Pictures: Nike reveals its LeBron James Innovation Center

Sportswear giant Nike has unveiled its LeBron James Innovation Center, allowing fans of both the athlete and the brand to see inside the new 84,000 feet building for the first time.

Located at Nike HQ, the building houses the all-new Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL), remade with a total of 400 motion-capture cameras, 97 force plates, body-mapping equipment and more. The lab, established 40 years ago in Exeter, will continue to work on performance breakthroughs and innovations, advancing its observation of athletes to further the understanding of their needs in sportswear.

“In the innovation space, we take information from the NSRL, and we are able to look at different ways to solve an athlete’s problem. It gets extremely interesting,” said Janett Nichol, VP of apparel innovation, in the brand’s tour video. “In a conventional way of building a product, we would just go straight to a material, get a pattern, sew it and then that would be it. Here, we can go to anything from biology or chemistry to pushing the limits of a machine to create a very different experience with the material.”

A full-size basketball court, a 200-meter endurance track, a 100 meter straightaway and an artificial turf training pitch are all part of the new space, as well as a number of climate chambers. The team within the space spans from biomechanics researchers to robotics experts to computational designers, aiming to facilitate collaboration.

Fans are able to explore the building and the work that goes on within it through Nike’s dedicated virtual reality website page for the centre, exhibiting staff and athlete interviews, details on inspiration and current explorations. Here at FashionUnited, we have outlined some of the main features of the building below.

Hover over the images to discover more.

LeBron James Innovation Centre

LeBron James logo

Entrance

Patent wall

LeBron James Court

Glo's Cafe

Sandy's Lounge