MVRDV has won a competition to design the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) Campus in Heilbronn, Germany. The campus will be transformed into a world-leading site for developing AI technologies. The design will include a variety of business campus laboratories, a startup innovation center, housing, a communication center, and many amenities, such as a restaurant and a kindergarten. Moreover, the scheme also embeds interactive touchpoints for curious visitors to see the development of these world-changing technologies firsthand and interact with the minds behind their creations.
The municipality of Heilbronn led the competition in Germany with the Dieter Shwarz Foundation. To create a campus prestigious and bold enough to compete with world-renowned tech hubs, MVRDV inscribe the entire master plan within a circle. The shape is meant to make the IPAI Campus instantly identifiable, making it visible in satellite photos. The circumference of the circle measuring 1.2 km incorporates a sprint track and a skate park, with framed tribunes and viewpoints overlooking the surrounding landscape.
In the MVRDV master plan for the campus, the buildings are simple rectangular shapes at a standardized 27 m height. Most buildings are, therefore, easy to construct using modular grids and bio-based materials. A few unique typologies, recognizable forms, and taller buildings that define the campus skyline stand out from the rest of the development. For example, the communications center is a spherical tower on the central plaza in the heart of the master plan. The center serves as a point of contact for the public to engage with the campus’s core activities. It includes space for events, exhibitions, conferences, visitors, and training centers.
The developments we have seen recently in the field of AI demand the attention of people from all walks of life, and with this design we create a compact campus for this to happen, the striking form of the campus can help to propel it to an international stage, attracting world-class talent. Meanwhile, the welcoming and engaging atmosphere, even the recognizable appearance, make this place a destination where people can engage in the future of this technology.
-- Jacob van Rijs, MVRDV founding partner .
Due to the campus's condensed form, a sizable amount of the overall site is left available for a parametric landscape design by LOLA to enhance the area's existing natural elements. As a result, forests, orchards, and meadows will develop in a region of Heilbronn that is currently grassland, acting as test sites for AI technology related to agriculture and biodiversity. The campus's carbon footprint is decreased thanks to these natural design features, which significantly increase the amount of carbon stored in the overall master plan. During operation, the campus is set to have bioclimatic façades and energy-saving building services. Renewable energy is generated nearby using wind turbines and solar panels and stored using batteries and ground-based heat and cold storage. Furthermore, the energy proposal is anticipated to be 100% carbon-neutral over its lifespan when considering the carbon stored by the regeneration of the landscape and the embodied carbon in the structures themselves.
Innovation Centers have become safe havens that foster and incubate of new ideas through heavy experimentation. In February, Snøhetta, in collaboration with MQDC, released the design for Cloud 11, a large-scale mixed-use complex in South Bangkok, Thailand. The UAE has recently unveiled its plans to develop a more significant agritourism designation in Dubai to provide food security and foster the sustainability of local communities. Furthermore, “Agri Hub” will host a new agricultural research institution, creating 10,000 jobs across various sectors. In Spain, BIG designed Gastronomy Open Ecosystem, a new food tech hub seeking to push forward the art and science of gastronomic innovation.
