It’s been in the works for many years, but the Shenzhen DJI headquarters have finally opened. DJI calls it DJI Sky City.
The headquarters were formally announced back in 2018 (I previewed it back then!), though it had been in the works for even longer than that. DJI says six years.
Prior to the new Sky City headquarters, DJI employees had been scattered among several Shenzhen buildings. And since Shenzhen, China, is considered one of the top ten UNESCO Cities of Design naturally the design of the Shenzhen DJI headquarters is absolutely stunning.
While the Drone Girl team didn’t make it to see the headquarters in person, DJI gave the Drone Girl team a photo tour, which I’m sharing with you. All of the below images are courtesy of DJI:
DJI Sky City was designed by the award-winning architectural team of Foster + Partners. It’s the same team thatbuilt a number of other high-profile tech company buildings, including the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, Calif. as part of Apple’s newly rebuilt headquarters, and numerous Apple retail stores, including the one in San Francisco’s Union Square.
The company’s office, research, and development areas give the impression from the distance as if the buildings were suspended in the air.
Within it is a series of two towers, one 44 and the other 40 stories.
There are also office and R&D areas across the towers arranged in floating volumes cantilevered from central cores by large megatrusses.
The DJI Sky City marks the first use of an asymmetrical suspension steel structure in high-rise towers of this scale. This structure actually reduces the need for columns.
Within Sky City, you’ll find drone flight testing labs over four stories.
At 105 meters, the towers are connected by a 90-meter-long suspension skybridge.
At ground level, the lifted volumes draw the surrounding greenery into the base of the buildings via a sloping podium garden that is open to the public. The ground floor of the Shenzhen DJI headquarters also features public facilities such as a community healthcare center.
Each of the lobbies showcases a black pine surrounded by a Zen garden, set against a striated wall made by the rammed-earth design process.
The complex’s TWIN lift system reduces the number of shafts required and increases usable office floor area.
The office is green too. Its intelligent control system also allows reduction of energy consumption during off-peak periods. Plus, rainwater is harvested and stored for reuse, and gray water is recycled for irrigation of the landscape – which also buffers rains during monsoon season.
“It took us six years to build the new DJI Headquarters, which is the result of the wisdom and determination of DJI and our valued partners,” said Frank Wang, Founder and CEO of DJI in a prepared statement. “We see Sky City as a product unlike any we’ve ever made: our real home. At the beginning of a new era for DJI, we pay great attention to the growth and well-being of every employee. This starts with a work environment that is both practical and delightful.”
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