GabyThe Dutch architectural firm MVRDV has presented the project for the Innovation Park. artificial intelligence (Ipai), which will be built in Heilbronn (Germany).
Ipai, which will cover an area of 265,000 square meters, will be inscribed within a hypothetical circle. Thanks to this unique shape, the park will be recognizable even from space.
The complex will be built at the request of the charitable foundation of Dieter Schwarz, the city authorities of Heilbronn, and the retail company Schwarz Group. According to the architects MVRDV, the clients aimed to create an authoritative technology center that could compete with well-known examples like Silicon Valley.
According to the vision of the authors and clients of the project, the new park will be multifunctional. It will house buildings for startups and laboratories. Additionally, the complex will serve an entertainment purpose. There will be space for exhibition areas, restaurants, and tourist hubs. The developers also considered housing for scientists and a kindergarten for their children. The structures will consist of modular designs and will predominantly have a rectangular shape. The average height of the buildings will be 27 meters.
Thus, Ipai can become “an attractive place for work and interesting visitors,” according to a statement from MVRDV.
The bureau is confident that the unconventional shape of the park will help bring it to the international stage and attract as many world-class talents as possible to its activities. This will be facilitated by a spirit of creativity and a welcoming atmosphere. The distinctive round shape of Ipai, which will be reflected in satellite images, will be used as a branding symbol for the park.
What else will be in the AI Innovation Park?
This ambitious mega-project will align with modern ecological trends. It will operate on solar and wind energy and will be carbon-neutral.
In the middle of the park, according to the authors of the Ipai project, “iconic forms” will rise: taller and architecturally more interesting buildings that will define the profile of the entire complex.
One of these buildings will house a visitor hub for the park in the form of a round tower, designed in collaboration with the Realace studio. It will feature spaces for events aimed at informing the public about artificial intelligence, the publication reported. Dezeen .
Another feature of the project will be a 1.2-kilometer path that will be laid around the complex. It will include locations for a track, a skate park, and observation decks.
Landscape designers from the project team will transform nearby pastures into woodlands and gardens. They will be used as testing grounds for AI technologies related to biodiversity and agriculture.
MVRDV is an architectural firm founded in 1993 in Rotterdam (Netherlands) by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, and Nathalie de Vries. Among other recent projects, the firm designed a market in Tainan (Taiwan), which is called the most beautiful fruit and vegetable market in the country. They also created a residential complex with houses resembling lace hills in the city of Rennes (France).
