LOUD successfully holds the launch ceremony for the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale!

To further explore the transformation of urban systems in the context of global climate change, enrich the theoretical innovation of urban science and urban design, and contribute Chinese wisdom and practical experience to the inclusive, equitable, and sustainable development of global cities, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urban Design and Urban Science (LOUD) has been invited to participate in the Venice Architecture Biennale. Through this international platform, LOUD will discuss and showcase China’s strategies for low-carbon and green urban development.

The Venice Architecture Biennale is the world’s oldest international art biennale and a global benchmark in the field. This edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale focuses on the relationship between architecture and cities, the environment, technology, and energy, addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change through case studies that propose "intelligent" solutions. The theme of this year’s exhibition is Intelligence, Nature, Artificial, Collective, curated by MIT professor and Italian architect Carlo Ratti.

On March 6, LOUD held the launch ceremony for its participation in the 19th edition of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale at NYU Shanghai. Aligning with the Biennale’s theme, LOUD introduced the innovative concept of Climate City Parks, an initiative that integrates big data, intelligent sensing, AI, and urban ecosystems to offer groundbreaking solutions to the global climate crisis.

Distinguished attendees at the launch ceremony included Li Jianing, Deputy Mayor of Fengxian District, Shanghai; Xiao Youhua, Deputy Mayor of Heze, Shandong Province; Sun Shan, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources; and Wang Yanjun, Party Secretary of Tangdao Bay Financial Innovation and Technology Zone (International Tourism and Resort Zone) in Qingdao West Coast.

The launch ceremony was hosted by LOUD postdoctoral researcher Li Chengwei, with a welcome speech delivered by Ding Shuzhe, Vice Chancellor of NYU Shanghai. Richard Peiser, Professor at Harvard University, gave a video address, and Steven Rockefeller III, Managing Partner of Silver Rock Capital, sent a congratulatory letter.

In the keynote session, Zou Rong, Co-Director of the Shanghai Climate Week Executive Committee, delivered a speech titled Climate Action and the Renewal of China's Narrative Paradigm. Zou introduced Shanghai Climate Week’s positioning as "China's Action, Asia's Voice, World Standards", and announced the launch of a Climate Park System in collaboration with LOUD, NYU Shanghai, and Tongmu Group. This initiative aims to integrate environment, technology, biodiversity, and cultural diversity to establish a global resilience standard.

Next, Professor ChengHe Guan, Co-Founder and Director of LOUD, delivered the keynote speech titled Urban Synthetic Population and Planning Decision Platform Supported by Spatiotemporal AI. The speech focused on data integration, causal inference, and scenario linkage, using AI modeling technology to build a virtual population system for simulating policy outcomes. A pilot project has been launched in a district of Shanghai, covering several key areas such as traffic carbon management, green technology mapping, zero-carbon airport early warning, and innovations in silicon carbide chips. This project represents a combination of LOUD’s cutting-edge research achievements with both software and hardware. The platform breaks through the limitations of traditional digital twins and establishes a multi-scale intelligent decision-making system, offering "Shanghai solutions" for global smart cities and positioning spatiotemporal AI as the core driving force in reshaping urban form.

Following that, Dr. Wei Zhou, Executive Deputy Director of LOUD and Head of the Low-Carbon City Project, delivered the keynote speech titled Research and Practice on Solving Urban Issues Based on the Digital and Smart Blue-Green Low-Carbon Research Direction. During the session, the laboratory’s promotional video was also premiered (the video is attached at the end of this article). LOUD focuses on the sustainable development of megacities and has established a research system based on "digital intelligence-driven, low-carbon empowerment, and blue-green symbiosis." The research directions include: digital smart urban management decision-making, green transportation energy-saving and emission reduction, and blue-green ecological monitoring. The laboratory has achieved five key technological breakthroughs, including low-carbon transformation in urban transportation, innovations in intelligent construction, and smart governance upgrades.

After a brief tea break, the press conference moved to an important segment, where Professor Ying Li, Co-Founder and Director of LOUD, introduced the Biennale project and showcased the exhibition case. The LOUD team’s exhibition, themed Climate City Parks, breaks through the traditional concept of parks as leisure spaces and creates an intelligent ecosystem integrating carbon sink centers, biodiversity sanctuaries, and sponge city units. Through AI large models, digital twin technology, and urban sensing networks, the park is transformed into a dynamic climate regulator that monitors real-time indicators such as air quality and the urban heat island effect. It also establishes green evaluation standards across multiple scales, including communities, neighborhoods, and cities. This concept aligns closely with the theme of this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale: Intelligence, Nature, Artificial.

The laboratory showcased the implementation path through five typical cases:

1. Heze, Shandong, is building a "new energy + multi-level transportation" system, integrating wind, solar, and geothermal resources to achieve visualized urban energy flow management;
2. Ordos Zero-Carbon Industrial Park pioneered the "Zero-Carbon Digital Operating System + Green Power Supply Chain" model, achieving 100% renewable energy supply, setting a standard paradigm for the transformation of energy cities globally;
3. Hefei Zero-Carbon Center reduced overall energy consumption by 32% and improved carbon reduction efficiency by 40% through an integrated solar storage and charging system;
4. Shanghai Lingang Innovation introduced the "AI + Resilient Community" model, using low-altitude remote sensing technology to create a dynamic microclimate adjustment system, effectively alleviating the urban heat island effect in coastal cities;
5. Hengdian Film City applied spatial digital diagnostics to create a dynamic thermal model, optimizing the spatial operation of 12 core scenic areas, increasing peak-hour visitor capacity by 25% and infrastructure utilization by 40%.

The theme of Climate City Parks presents an open and replicable world city operating system to the Venice Architecture Biennale, offering internationally applicable ecological and intelligent solutions and standards. Ultimately, it aims to become a green neural network safeguarding the future.

During the signing ceremony, LOUD entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Zhejiang Qiangnao Technology Co., Ltd.

BrainCo is one of the "Six Small Dragons" of Hangzhou, with its research and development focused on brain-machine interface technology. It has made breakthroughs in the fields of rehabilitation medicine and human-computer interaction, becoming a representative of the "Six Small Dragons" with both technological depth and social value. After the signing ceremony, Han Bicheng, the founder of BrainCo, delivered an insightful presentation.

The second signing partner was Shenzhen Pai'er Urban Technology Co., Ltd. This collaboration will focus on advancing smart city traffic algorithm technologies, exploring urban carbon reduction pathways, and promoting the green and low-carbon development of cities.

Next, LOUD signed a technical cooperation agreement with Shenzhen VIKOR Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. The collaboration will focus on smart security visual algorithm technologies, aiming to enhance urban governance capabilities and create a new model for digital and intelligent urban management.

Finally, LOUD signed a technical cooperation agreement with Shenzhen Basic Semiconductor Co., Ltd. This collaboration will focus on third-generation semiconductor silicon carbide technology, providing innovative solutions for smart cities.

At the end of the conference agenda, ChengHe Guan, the co-founder and director of LOUD, delivered the concluding remarks. He stated that in the future, LOUD will collaborate with various partners to contribute wisdom and strength toward building a more beautiful and livable human home. As climate change intensifies, the "Climate City Park" is transitioning from concept to a global governance practice guide, opening new pathways for building a sustainable future for humanity. He expressed anticipation for the release of the product and the official opening of the Venice Architecture Biennale this summer.

The experts and scholars attending the launch ceremony included Ding Shuzhe, Vice President of New York University Shanghai; Lu Xiongwen, Dean of the School of Management at Fudan University; Shi Jianxun, Deputy Dean of the National Innovation and Development Research Institute at Tongji University; Xu Fuijie from Duke Kunshan University; Yin Chengliang, Chief Researcher in the field of intelligent and connected electric vehicles at Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Wang Tao, Director of the Design and Construction Research Institute at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Design Research Institute; Su Yi, Chief Data Officer at Shanghai Technology Exchange; Lin Jichu, Professor at the School of Civil Engineering at Zhengzhou University; Wu Xindi, Entrepreneur Mentor at Tongji University; Zou Rong, Co-chair of the Shanghai Climate Week Executive Committee; Guan Jie, Executive Secretary-General of the Shanghai Climate Week Executive Committee; and Rao Wei, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Climate Week Executive Committee.

The personnel from LOUD included co-founders ChengHe Guan and Ying Li; Senior Research Assistant Rong Yu; Executive Deputy Director Zhou Wei, Liu Yanjun; Postdoctoral Researcher Li Chengwei; Researchers Wang Jun and Tian Shuai.

The invited enterprise representatives included: BrainCo, Tongmu Construction Group, Envision Group, Sunshine Carbon Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Port City Development (Group) Co., Ltd., Hengdian Group Holding Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Paier Urban Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen VIKOR Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen BASiC Semiconductor Co., Ltd., Little Golden Star International Education Group, Shanghai Ago Group Co., Ltd., East Hope Lansheng (Group) Co., Ltd., Fujian Zuohai Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Xiangliang Technology Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Zhoushan Tourism Group, Yangtze River Delta Urban Development Data Research Institute, Shenzhen Leading Technology Industrial Development Co., Ltd., Shanghai Ruijie Investment Co., Ltd., Nanjing Guangxian Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Pudong New Area Planning & Design Research Institute, CCDI Suzhou Urban-Rural Development Research Institute, Saudi Chinese Overseas Chinese Association, Fujian Zhihe Metal Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Third Dimension Technology Co., Ltd., UAD Architects, WZ Architects Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Greenland Engineering Technology (Group) Co., Ltd.