MVRDV, LOLA Landscape Architects, and other teams have won the competition to create an AI campus in Heilbronn. This unique circle-shaped campus will provide a space for entrepreneurs at its innovation center and housing for companies and laboratories.
MVRDV wants to create an internationally leading campus suitable for AI innovation, achieved through their detailed circular master plan.
MVRDV’s ambition is to construct a globally recognizable, prominent campus–on par with Silicon Valley and Shenzhen–by using a circular shape. As per the firm, this design would allow satellite photos to capture it easily, thus boosting its prestige on the world stage.
Two green axes, one a historic Roman path, cut through the circle of the master plan’s layout to form its main north-south route, and a 1.2-kilometer-long path skirts around the campus buildings. These form the basis of the design.
Athletic track, skate park, bleachers, and viewpoints all bridge the campus with the surrounding area~ allowing for greater activation of the locale and an enhanced view of its environment. These facilities offer a gateway for visitors to participate in activities and appreciate their surroundings.
The efficient use of renewable materials and a straightforward grid have made construction more effective, with campus buildings characteristically taking on a rectangular shape, with heights ranging from 27 to 30 meters.
The plan features several “specials” which stand out due to their unique typologies and taller structures that form the campus skyline. At the heart of it lies these specials, which comprise an integral part of the plan.
The plaza’s centerpiece is a round tower, aptly classified as the “communications center.” Acting as a multi-purpose destination for visitors, conferences, and other events, this tower houses a training center and exhibition display space.
The compact shape of the campus provides a great opportunity to overhaul the outdoor space, transforming it with a parametric landscape design by LOLA Architects into a forest, orchards, and experimental gardens devoted to biodiversity and agriculture-related AI technology.
MVRDV guarantees that the combination of natural elements in the master plan will have a highly beneficial outcome in reducing CO2 emissions from the campus.
The campus’s energy consumption is expected to be notably lower than similar-sized campuses, thanks to bioclimatic facades and energy-efficient installations. Additionally, renewable energy will be generated from wind turbines and solar panels, then stored in batteries for future use.
Heat and cold storage in the ground, afforestation of the landscape, and other measures proposed by Ivo Haarman and MVRDV will allow the campus to become carbon-neutral over its lifetime.
The Ipai consortium, consisting of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, the municipality of Heilbronn, and the Schwarz Group, designed the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence specifically for themselves.
MVRDV has collaborated with design partners like Thornton Tomasetti, Studio Animal-Aided Design, REALACE, Peutz Consult, and Gruner Deutschland to create their project LOLA. All partners contributed to the design of this project.
MVRDV’s winning proposal demonstrates the potential for architecture and AI to work together to create innovative and sustainable spaces that support research and development in the field. As AI continues to transform various industries and sectors, it is essential to have dedicated spaces that facilitate collaboration and innovation. The Heilbronn AI campus promises to be such a space, and we look forward to seeing it come to fruition in the coming years.
Source: Archello
