The Dutch architecture firm MVRDV is planning a district for artificial intelligence in Heilbronn. The area is currently still being used for agriculture. But in the coming years, the AI Park Heilbronn is set to become a hotspot for the development of innovative AI products.

The Dutch architecture firm MVRDV is planning a district for artificial intelligence in Heilbronn. The area is currently still being used for agriculture. But in the coming years, the AI Park Heilbronn is set to become a hotspot for the development of innovative AI products.

Around five years ago, the state of Baden-Württemberg developed an AI economic strategy, which also gave rise to the idea of an innovation park for artificial intelligence. The aim is to create a hotspot for the development of innovative AI products. International companies and start-ups are to settle here and test artificial intelligence applications.

Initially, there was a competition to select the location for the AI Park Heilbronn, in which the consortium from the city of Heilbronn won. Participants included the city itself, a municipal housing company, the Dieter Schwarz Foundation and companies from the Schwarz Group, the parent company of Lidl and Kaufland. The consortium is also known as the IPAI consortium, short for Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence.

The chosen location is in the north-west of the city of Heilbronn in the Steinäcker area. At present, the area is still used for agriculture. But over the next few years, “the largest ecosystem for artificial intelligence in Europe” is to be created, according to the city of Heilbronn’s website. The international ideas and realization competition was decided in March 2023. MVRDV’s master plan came out on top. The competition included wulf architekten from Stuttgart (2nd place), Herzog & de Meuron from Basel (3rd place) and OMA Office for Metropolitan Architecture from Rotterdam (4th place). The consortium of city, foundation and company chose the winner from a jury selection of four projects.

The leitmotif of the winning design by MVRDV, in which LOLA Landscape Architects from Rotterdam also participated, is the basic circular urban structure. The district should have a high recognition value. According to Jacob van Rijs, founding partner of MVRDV, the striking forum of the campus is even intended to attract world-class talent.

A 1.2-kilometre circular path with a sprint track, a skate park, a grandstand and viewing points will surround the quarter. Inside, KI-Park Heilbronn will be divided by a north-south axis and an east-west axis. In the south, the quarter is connected to the road network. There will also be two bus stops for public transport connections.

The KI-Park Heilbronn will be located on an area of around 23 hectares. MVRDV has kept the building cubatures simple. They have a uniform height of 27 meters and a modular design. This should enable efficient realization. At the heart of the planned park is a cylindrical communication center that houses rooms for events, exhibitions and conferences as well as a training center. So-called specials such as the “Smart Mobility Hub”, a sports hall and an area for start-ups are also part of the campus. The result is a mixed-use development that includes office buildings and laboratories as well as residential buildings, daycare centers, restaurants and green spaces.

Construction of the KI Park Heilbronn is set to begin in 2024. The first buildings could be ready for occupancy as early as 2026. The first 100 million euros are currently available for the realization of the park. Half of this comes from the state of Baden-Württemberg and half from the Dieter Schwarz Foundation. Costs in the high three-digit million range could be incurred by the time the final development is completed, as the KI Quarter has to meet high structural and ecological standards. More than 30 buildings are ultimately to stand on the site. The first of these will be an information center in the middle of the site.

Around 5,000 people are expected to find work in the new quarter. This is particularly important to the Schwarz Foundation. It has been investing in educational and research facilities in Heilbronn for years. After all, Dieter Schwarz, now 83 years old and former managing director of Lidl and Kaufland, was born in Heilbronn. As one of the richest people in Germany, Schwarz is a major force behind the KI-Park Heilbronn.

The aim of the circular new district in Heilbronn is to create a “world-class value creation center”. Whether this is successful depends above all on how many large companies want to settle there and invest in the location. The international reputation of the MVRDV studio will certainly contribute to the attractiveness of the AI Park.

Until the KI Park Heilbronn is complete in ten years at the earliest, office space will be used in the city’s Future Park.

Heilbronn wants to present itself internationally with the KI Park. The city wants it to attract attention and be highly recognizable. According to Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut (CDU), Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Economic Affairs, the innovation park shows that the state is taking its digital future into its own hands. “Artificial intelligence has arrived in everyday life. We want to shape AI from Baden-Württemberg with our values.”

The circular AI Campus will be visible from the highway. With its mix of buildings in different styles and flexible use, it is primarily intended to attract the international AI elite. Curious visitors will also be able to visit the AI Park Heilbronn in future to experience the development of new technologies at first hand.

The winning design by MVRDV will also set new standards in terms of sustainability. In addition to green spaces on the campus, there will also be forests, wild meadows and orchards. MVRDV is also planning to construct the modular buildings from eco-friendly materials. The energy consumption of the finished campus is to be up to 80 percent lower than that of a typical campus of the same size. So-called bioclimatic facades and energy-efficient buildings in combination with wind turbines and solar panels should make this possible. In this way, MVRDV hopes to make the Heilbronn AI Park carbon-neutral over the course of its lifetime.

Incidentally, MVRDV is also active in other German cities, such as Candidplatz in Munich.