BIG unveils AI CITY as the future home for Terminus Group

The future home for Terminus Group, the world-leading smartservice provider shaping the next generation of technology and cities, will bein AI CITY. BIG envisions the hi-tech campus as the new center of innovationfor China, dedicated to Terminus Group's ambitions in artificial intelligenceof things, robotics, networking and big data. AI CITY is located in Chongqing, also known as the mountain city for being a sprawling megacity that's crisscrossed by riversand mountains in southwest China. The site of AI CITY is specifically situatedwithin the Chongqing Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, with the 75,000m2Cloud Valley anchoring the Science and Technology Headquarters in the firstphase of the masterplan. We have over the recent years worked with several of the world sleading technology companies. We are thrilled to bring our experience toChongqing and together with Terminus create AI CITY, the first landmark projectin the Hi-Tech Zone to become a new center of innovation for China. In AI CITY,Cloud Valley is envisioned as a city where people, technology and nature thrivetogether with spaces designed for all types of life: human life, plant life,animal life and even artificial life. says Bjarke Ingels, Founder &Creative Director of BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group. Cloud Valley takes its inspiration from the natural WulongKarst in the Chongqing Wulong National Park, where valleys and mountain formstunning connections between the earth and the sky. BIG's proposal for CloudValley is conceived as two plots along Xinzhou Avenue and Gaoxin Avenue, thatmimic each other's opposites, described as a brother and sister by Bjarke. There is the Mountain, which forms a striking landmark in the area that givesshelter to a protected network of courtyards filled with inviting publicfunctions. Then there is the Valley, which offers the largest publiclyaccessible green rooftops in China for open-air events. Below the roofscape,the building opens up to the surrounding public to invite visitors into thisnew neighborhood. Below the clouds and between the mountains, AI CITY iswhere Terminus and the world's leading technology companies aim to advance thefuture of artificial intelligence and robotics, and build the foundations of anew sustainable development. In Cloud Valley, the barriers between nature andbuildings will be removed. The porous structure of the urban fabric will creategenerous green courtyards with natural light and ventilation throughout bothplots. Each courtyard will be programmed to host specific public activities. Sports events, art exhibitions and product fairs will be hosted in thetechnological park spread between the buildings. The barriers between human and artificial intelligence willalso be removed. Newly created spaces including AI exhibition spaces, marketsand cafés will invite the public to join under the roof. Under the same roof,professionals and robotics working in the most innovative companies of thecountry will develop future technologies. The traffic strategy focuses on aflexible transition towards a future re-balance of nature with development. Throughout AI CITY, e-bikes, robotic vehicles and self-driving cars will definea new, smart mobility system. With Chongqing's unique location between the mountains,impressive cloud formations shield the building from direct sun exposure andcreates a special atmosphere condition that allows the façade designs to bemore transparent than usual. To protect the facades and exterior public spacesfrom further sun radiation and heavy rain, the building's rooftops are extendedby a significant distance, depending on the facade's orientation. The roof alsodrops all the way to the central courtyard in one place, creating access to theroof lush garden, and in other places, the roof lifts in two corners to createentryways from the inside. The roofscape is one of the most important components thatshapes the spirit of the Cloud Valley.