A new office project by Foster + Partners may possibly be a front for a drone army—or at least, that’s what a new fly-through-video-slash-trailer would have me believe. The firm today released details about its under-construction headquarters in Shenzhen, China, for drone manufacturer DJI.
The video’s first few sequences feature mechanical sounds, a helicopter lift, and a dark room filled with drones on pedestals, inexplicably containing a layer of fog or smoke near the floor. Another fade-to-black, and suddenly we’re in an open-air entrance leading to a glazed lobby. Another fade, then we’re in a yard filled with what looks like bonsai trees set among white sand. After several more shots, we get a glimpse of the gym—could that be one of the “robot fighting rings” to the left? Another shot shows a triple-height atrium with counter workstations, drones casually flying overhead. Around the two-minute mark, drones on a conveyor belt hover what appears to be many stories above the ground. As the video zooms out, it’s made clear that belt is located in the building’s skybridge, where drones now exit from the base. At this point in the video it appears the building is birthing drones. Watch the full video below.
Visit ARCHITECT’s Project Gallery for more information about the DJI Headquarters in Shenzhen, China.
