Features

New York Liberty unveils female-focused locker room at Barclays Center

Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team New York Liberty has unveiled the completed renovation of its 6,000-square-foot locker room and lounge, which has been conceptualised and developed by a team of women.

The compound at Barclays Center, the Liberty’s home arena, has been built with women’s comfort and preferences in mind. A team of women from Shawmut Design and Construction and Generator Studios has developed the space.

The Liberty are playing home games at Barclays Center for the first time this year, and the locker room and lounge is located close to the arena’s court. As well as new lockers and a players’ lounge, the space features new operating systems and a shower and bathroom layout with extended space for dressing and makeup mirrors.

The team has also partnered with Humanscale, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance ergonomic products, on the project. Humanscale has provided carefully selected products for the new locker room and staff area to create a space that is both “functional and well-designed”.

Liberty chief executive Keia Clarke said: “A group of world-class athletes deserve a world-class space, and that is precisely what Shawmut and Generator Studios have created with this new locker room. The Liberty organisation continues to be intentional about uplifting women in all facets of the company and this renovation project is no different.”

David Margolius, executive vice-president of Shawmut Design and Construction’s New York Metro region, added: “Partnering with Generator Studios in design-build collaboration, we were proud to assemble a female-led design and construction team for the New York Liberty.

“Our commitment to operationalising diversity, equity, and inclusion in our business allowed us the capability to do this – not to mention the sheer talent of these team members. This is truly a project built by women, for women – and in an industry that’s less than 10% female, we’re especially proud of this. On top of that, we delivered on our commitment to 100% WMBE (Women and Minority-Owned Business Enterprises) external subcontractors.”