Global battery manufacturer KDL has unveiled plans for its new headquarters in Shenzhen’s Longhua district, that is currently under construction. The headquarters is a 120-meter mixed-use office building designed by Büro Ole Scheeren that reflects the growing role of research, advanced manufacturing, and innovation in China’s evolving economy.
Known as KDL Portal, the 36,380-square-meter development will serve as more than a conventional corporate headquarters. The project brings together offices, research and development facilities, a corporate gallery, business club, and short-stay apartments within a single vertical campus intended to foster collaboration across the company’s operations.
Located alongside a reservoir park within one of Shenzhen’s emerging business districts, the headquarters will become one of the first landmark buildings in Longhua, supporting the district’s transition into a center for technology and advanced manufacturing within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Rather than expressing a conventional office tower, the design organizes the building as a series of stacked volumes connected by large curvilinear “portal” spaces that project outward toward the city and surrounding landscape. These spaces extend beyond the building envelope to create shared workplaces, meeting areas, terraces, and social spaces while framing views of the adjacent park and reservoir.
The project’s circulation strategy departs from the traditional central-core office tower. By shifting vertical circulation and building services to one side, the design creates flexible, open floorplates with direct access to daylight, outdoor terraces, and collaborative spaces integrated into the façade. The headquarters is intended to accommodate evolving workplace needs while encouraging interaction among employees, researchers, and visitors.
Landscape also plays a central role in the project. Terraces, planted areas, and extensive glazing strengthen the connection between interior workspaces and the surrounding park, creating a workplace that integrates nature with daily activity.
Founded in 1996, KDL has become a major supplier within the global battery industry, supporting electric mobility and energy storage technologies through manufacturing operations in China, Europe, and North America. The new headquarters gives architectural expression to a company whose influence has largely operated behind the scenes, while reflecting broader shifts in China’s industrial landscape toward research-intensive, innovation-driven production.
Scheduled for completion in 2027, KDL Portal represents an emerging generation of headquarters that combines workplace, research, hospitality, and public-facing functions within a single vertical environment, illustrating how corporate buildings are increasingly serving as ecosystems for innovation rather than solely places of work.
Read more at Buro Ole Scheeren.