The latest in cutting-edge technology comes together with natural surroundings at the biophilic “Geek Community Project,” a massive facility for research and development proposed for the Lijia Intelligent Park in Chongqing, China. Two curved volumes arc away from each other, joined by a central atrium that acts as a hub for interaction between the building’s occupants and visitors.

Interaction is what this complex is all about, in fact, “between people, between nature and culture, and between the past and the present,” says PLP Architecture, who created the design for a competition. The 50,000-square-meter (538,000-square-foot) building aims to offer lots of opportunities for collaborators to come together inside and interface with the beautiful setting. The circular atrium at the heart of the building is flooded with light, composed of stacked rings that connect the four main wings. It acts as a gallery, a space for “robotic performances” and product reveals, and a continuous walkway leading all the way to the roof that lets people get some exercise and engage with each other along the way.

The two main curving volumes include a taller southern structure that rises to greet visitors as they arrive and a lower northern structure that steppes down to maximize views of historic ruins adjacent to the site. Fully glazed to let in lots of sunlight, they’re also clad in shading fins to keep the building from overheating in summer ...