Midea spent 7 billion yuan to build a "Smart City" in Shanghai.

Author | Huang Nan

Editor | Peng Xiaoqiu

Nowadays, the penetration rate of intelligent hardware devices is constantly rising in many industrial parks, office buildings, and large shopping malls. Behind the coexistence of humans and machines, embedding AI into the management and services of public domains can achieve comprehensive intelligence in algorithm applications, data middle platforms, edge devices, and cities.

In recent years, the global public domain AIoT market has been growing rapidly. According to the data from CIC Consulting, the scale of the global public domain AIoT was 754 billion yuan in 2018, and it exceeded the trillion - yuan mark by 2023, reaching 1.65 trillion yuan, with an average annual compound growth rate of 17.0%. It is expected to grow to 2.664 trillion yuan by 2028. CRI predicts that by 2030, the scale of China's smart building market is expected to reach 3 trillion yuan.

On July 21st, the Midea Global Innovation Park in Shanghai was officially opened. Located in the West Hongqiao Business District of Qingpu District, Shanghai, the park cost 7 billion yuan. Construction started in early 2021 and was completed in June 2025. The total land area of the project exceeds 80,000 square meters, and the total floor area is about 400,000 square meters, covering two plots: the northern plot is an office area that can accommodate tens of thousands of people to work; the southern plot is a commercial area that combines supporting services with open sharing.

Midea Global Innovation Park in Shanghai

Based on the concept of "green and low - carbon, sustainable development", photovoltaic panels are installed on the rooftops of the buildings, with an installation area of about 20,000 square meters, which can save 20% of the park's total annual power consumption. At the same time, the iBUILDING digital platform provided by Midea Building Technologies can realize device linkage and energy - efficiency optimization, and cooperate with equipment such as magnetic levitation chillers to ensure that "high - efficiency energy conservation" truly runs through the entire operation cycle.

As one of Midea Group's two full - category R & D bases in China, the Shanghai park is positioned as a core for forward - looking technology research, focusing on intelligent technology and cutting - edge R & D. It is the core R & D hub for Midea Group to layout in East China and radiate globally, complementing and collaborating with the Shunde base.

Specifically in daily scenarios, the Midea iBUILDING Smart Management Platform, the "intelligent central hub" in the park, coordinates the operation. It connects various intelligent devices such as air conditioners, lighting, and elevators in the park and can dynamically adjust the control logic according to different time periods.

Employees can query the availability of meeting rooms through the platform. When entering the office area, the lights have automatically adjusted their brightness according to the light intensity. During peak office hours, through the linkage between the turnstiles and elevators, the system assigns the optimal elevator car according to the employees' destinations, eliminating the need to manually select floors and significantly reducing the passage time. When entering the meeting room, the air - conditioning temperature has been adjusted to the appropriate temperature and humidity in real - time according to the number of people in the room. Even during different periods such as work hours, lunch breaks, and holidays, the platform can automatically switch the device operation modes to ensure a balance between efficiency and energy conservation.

Midea Global Innovation Park in Shanghai

36Kr learned that all vertical elevators, escalators, and freight elevator systems in the park use LINVOL high - end digital elevators under Midea, which can seamlessly connect with Midea's self - developed intelligent control system. In terms of smart building management, based on the iBUILDING digital platform, the integrated operation and maintenance of its own access control systems, vehicle barriers and other IoT devices, as well as third - party devices, can be completed to achieve precise control of the park's energy consumption. In addition, the MDV8 series multi - split air - conditioning system and the Sinan series magnetic levitation centrifugal chillers independently developed and produced by Midea Building Technologies can also provide efficient HVAC solutions.

As an integrated carrier for Midea Building Technologies' four major businesses of HVAC, elevators, intelligentization, and energy, the iBUILDING digital platform in the Midea Global Innovation Park in Shanghai not only presents the efficiency and convenience of a smart space but also verifies its universality and scalability in different scenarios.

Relying on the iBUILDING digital platform and starting from user needs, it realizes in - depth integration and innovation across devices and systems. "In the past, as a single - device supplier, our focus was mostly on energy consumption itself, aiming to optimize the energy - consumption indicators of the devices. However, as Midea Building Technologies transforms into a comprehensive building solution service provider, this role change requires us not only to accurately grasp users' explicit needs but also to deeply explore their potential needs." Yang Pengyu, the general manager of the strategic business of Midea Building Technologies Division, emphasized.

Midea Global Innovation Park in Shanghai

Currently, the capabilities of Midea's iBUILDING platform are not limited to the park scenario but have been widely applied in diverse scenarios such as hospitals, schools, subways, data centers, and airports, and can be flexibly adapted according to different management needs.

In terms of overseas business, Midea Building Technologies has covered more than 200 countries and regions around the world, accounting for 45% of its business. Midea has also established a new R & D center, MBT Climate, in Europe, with nearly 4,000 local employees responsible for local product development and sales services.