WLA AI Lab
Shanghai, China
The world’s first purpose-built lab for artificial intelligence, WLA AI Lab introduces a new architectural typology designed to power the future of research and innovation.
About
Located in Shanghai’s global R&D district, WLA AI Lab creates a new home for the world’s leading AI researchers and scientists. Developed for the World Laureates Association, the 47,400m² building brings together advanced physical and digital infrastructure in a unified setting tailored specifically for AI. Its ambition is to enable new forms of discovery and collaboration, while establishing a blueprint for future research environments.
The building combines Super Labs, Specialist Labs, General Labs and Data Centres with communal workspaces, breakout zones and planted roof terraces, all connected by a central atrium that encourages informal exchange. This varied mix of spaces supports experimentation, focus and collaboration at every level, from deep technical research to interdisciplinary discussion.
Internally, the building is organised as a network of flexible volumes, stacked and bridged around a shared social core. Every part of the design, from lighting and layout to landscape, is intended to enhance wellbeing and foster a sense of collective purpose. Rather than functioning solely as a technical facility, the building is designed to support the people behind the research, creating a more open and connected environment for innovation.
The architecture draws on the logic of computing itself, with a podium inspired by the motherboard and upper volumes conceived as a highly adaptable framework for evolving research needs. Through this approach, WLA AI Lab redefines what a research building can be: not only a technical facility, but a place of openness, interaction and invention, built to support the people shaping tomorrow’s technologies.
Awards
The design team conducted extensive research on the spatial requirements for future AI labs, including the typology, scale and functional components. The result is a highly flexible complex space that can respond to the rapidly changing needs of the industry.
“The AI Lab is where human ingenuity meets the boundless potential of AI. With this first-of-its-kind building, we’ve designed a space to empower scientists to tackle groundbreaking research through adaptive environments, cutting-edge infrastructure, and seamless data flow.
Establishing the Podium
The scheme begins with a podium that defines the site footprint and anchors the building within its wider context. This lower volume accommodates the specialist labs and podium functions, creating a robust base for the programme above.
Breaking Down the Base
The podium is divided into four distinct volumes to improve permeability, introduce daylight and create clearer movement routes across the site. This fragmentation also helps reduce the scale of the mass while establishing a more open and connected ground condition.
Introducing the Tower
A larger upper volume is placed above the podium to accommodate the general lab spaces, separating them from the more specialised functions below. This stacked arrangement creates a clear organisational logic between the podium and tower programmes.
Opening the Core
A central void is carved from the tower volume to create a vertical atrium that brings light, openness and orientation into the heart of the building. This move also establishes stronger visual and spatial connections between the different programme layers.
Shaping the Social Atrium
The atrium is further articulated to create a more dynamic internal space for circulation, interaction and informal exchange. Rather than acting purely as a void, it becomes the social heart of the building and a key organising element of the scheme.
Connecting to Nature
Openings are introduced into the upper volume to frame views, bring daylight deeper into the building and strengthen the relationship to the surrounding landscape. These cuts help connect the internal research environment to nature, light and the wider site context.
Final Form
The completed massing brings together podium, tower, atrium and carved openings into a single integrated architectural form. The result is a building shaped by programme, connection and environmental response, creating a new typology for AI research and innovation.
Establishing the Podium
The scheme begins with a podium that defines the site footprint and anchors the building within its wider context. This lower volume accommodates the specialist labs and podium functions, creating a robust base for the programme above.
“The atrium is conceived as the social heart of the building, where researchers, ideas and disciplines can meet in an open and connected environment.”
A Building Shaped by Technology
The architecture takes cues from the structure of a CPU and motherboard, translating the language of computing into built form. This approach gives the building a strong conceptual identity while reflecting the innovation taking place inside.
