Over the past decade, Midea Group has transformed from a well-known major appliance company into a globally leading technology and innovation firm, driven by digital upgrades and overseas acquisitions. In 2024, Midea Group ranked 277th among the Fortune Global 500. This project aims to provide world-class office facilities to attract top global talent to Midea, while creating a futuristic hub for technology and innovation. It will serve as a global R&D platform for four key areas: foundational science, artificial intelligence, robotics, and smart IoT. The project embodies Midea Group’s core vision: “Technology for the betterment of life.”

Midea Global Innovation Campus is located in the Hongqiao Business District of Shanghai, close to the National Exhibition and Convention Center and Hongqiao International Airport. The center covers 80,180 square meters of land, with a total floor area of 398,000 square meters and a floor area ratio of 2.5. The project includes 150,000 square meters for R&D offices, 50,000 square meters for laboratories, 30,000 square meters for campus facilities, 20,000 square meters for a hotel, and 10,000 square meters for commercial spaces. The concept design won an international competition in 2020, and construction began in 2021. Once completed, the center will provide a headquarters and innovation community to support the work and lives of 15,000 employees.

The project site is surrounded by large-scale urban landmarks such as Hongqiao Airport and the National Exhibition and Convention Center, along with fast highways and flight paths. The site is divided into two sections by city roads, each serving one of two major business units. In this context, both the building's functions and the public spaces connecting to the city are designed to be open and connected. To achieve this, the design features two large L-shaped office buildings that fit together to form a massive 240m x 240m square structure, seamlessly blending into the natural landscape of the podium. The floating architectural form helps explore the relationship between the building, the city, nature, and human interaction, aiming to create a space that balances social connection with a sense of technological sophistication.

With the rapid advancement of science and technology, the way modern tech companies work is changing. Our goal is to create a work-life environment at this tech headquarters that is connected, inspiring, freeing, and true to itself for every employee. This is the core idea behind the office design. By imagining a tech city floating above a forest, we address the need for openness and collaboration, which are key to tech companies, while also taking into account the complex urban surroundings. The two interlinked L-shaped office buildings form a unified yet distinct structure, with pathways that connect sky offices, rooftop gardens, landscaped grounds, and sunken plazas in multiple ways.