Shenshan Robotics Technology Campus

Greater Bay Area, China

Client:

Guangdong Shenshan Investment Holdings Group

Size:

2.6M SF
RDC was chosen to provide architecture and planning as part of an international design competition for a new construction, high-end R+D robotics campus environment encourages the sharing of knowledge and nurturing ideas to bring new technologies to life. The international design firm’s solutions are driven by a holistic and innovative thinking about workplace and mixed-use environments. The design is intended to evolve how people interact with buildings and the urban environment to position the district as a preferred development for science and technology companies to base themselves in the Greater Bay Area.

The Shenshan Robotics Technology Campus is currently under construction with plans to open in 2022.

The master plan takes advantage of its Mountains-to-the Sea, North-South Axis orientation and draws inspiration from the site which is divided by a river that runs from the mountains to the sea. It establishes a clear hierarchy of building types to accommodate office, assembly, R&D, light production and employee residences.

The heart of the campus is the Central Garden, protected from the urban edge of the site and referencing the tradition of cloisters that is at the heart of long-established places of learning. Outdoor communal spaces encourage people to circulate, naturally gather and engage in conversation. Beneath a circular bridge that unites the West and East halves of the campus, a nature reserve is open to the public, schools and colleges, to visit and explore nature, the source of all scientific and technological study.

The Shenshan Robotics Technology Campus has been designed to achieve China Green Two Star certification.

Four 120m tall point towers provide landmarks on the district’s skyline and establish a strong central axis responding to the river. These towers consist of two signature office towers on the site’s city side and two apartment towers on the quieter northern, mountainside edges with south-looking views over the green campus environment and towards the coastline. Five lower buildings are pushed to the outer road edges along the west and east boundaries of the campus, maximizing commercial exposure from the public realm while protecting the central garden for occupants, tenants and residents to enjoy a sense of security, tranquility and seclusion. Garden offices provide incubator office space for start-ups and boutique tech companies. These three-story garden offices are sited along the riverside with roofs below the treetops whose offices sit camouflaged within the central garden. Together with the garden offices, the five mid-rise blocks provide for a strong sense of place and feeling of wellness – a healthy work environment that brings the tech campus community closer to nature.

The community is animated at ground level by shops, restaurants and a range of new civic spaces, establishing an open, interactive environment, rooted in a sense of place.