Burckhardt was invited to participate in the international idea and realization competition for the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) in Heilbronn.

Nine internationally renowned offices were among the participants and presented their forward-looking visions for the educational campus on the Steinäcker site in the north of Heilbronn. The «Made in Baden-Württemberg» project will generate great international interest. The new quarter is to become home to a world-class value-added center for artificial intelligence (AI): A place of continuous development according to future needs.

A living quarter of knowledge and research
Our contribution focuses on networking and interaction – as a synergy of cultural, artificial and biological intelligence. The starting point was the idea of the village green and the European city, which develops from context and culture. «We see the campus as an attractive, lively, green working and living space that combines vision and feasibility,» says Daria Grouhi, architect and managing director of the Berlin site. We are taking into account the complex requirements of a wide variety of uses with a holistic approach. The result is an open and lively quarter of knowledge that brings together different uses and creates synergy effects among them. Clear basic architectural principles create the greatest possible diversity. The communication center forms the heart of the public space. The buildings are delicately designed with open first floor and urban meeting zones.

Technology meets nature
The quarter interlocks with the productive landscape. The dense tree population with small cooling oases ensures a high quality of stay. A large landscape park along the historic Römerweg forms the green backbone and connects the quarter with its surroundings. «We at Burckhardt are thus making a sustainable innovative contribution to future visions of European urban developments,» explains Wolfgang Hardt, Co-CEO of Burckhardt, adding, «Many thanks to the top-class competition team, in particular to our project partners from Hosoya Schaefer Architects and Querfeldeins, as well as to the awarding authority for the professional execution of the process.»

Competition team
Hosoya Schaefer Architects (urban design)
Querfeldeins (landscape architecture)
Buro Happold (climate+sustainability, technical building equipment, structural design, mobility concept)
Müller BBM (sound insulation, building physics)
hhpberlin (fire protection)