Tencent's future headquarters, officially named the Shenzhen Internet + Future Tech City, is located in Dachan Bay, Shenzhen. This expansive 80.9-hectare (809,000 sq m) waterfront campus, affectionately nicknamed "Penguin Island" after Tencent's iconic logo, is progressing rapidly. With Phase 1 now advancing towards completion, Parcel 5 is set to begin trial operation in October 2025, according to a release by Tencent. It will feature over 4,000 residential units across eleven towers of the "Penguin Apartment," which will open their doors to Tencent's young talents.
Arcadis is honored to partner with Tencent's in-house teams, providing integrated services, including Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management (PM), and Cost & Commercial Management (CCM)/Quantity Surveying (QS), to ensure the high-quality delivery of this innovative district. The project exemplifies modern construction methodologies and aims to set a global benchmark.
© Tencent 2025
Spanning approximately 3 million sq m of total construction floor area, Tencent’s “Penguin Island” consolidates R&D offices, innovation districts, apartments, hotels, tech museum, conference centers, schools, commercial and public facilities, all designed to accommodate 80,000 users in the AI era. Since 2018, Arcadis has supported Tencent through feasibility studies, project planning, program and project management, and cost & commercial management, navigating the complex interfaces among planning, design, engineering, procurement, and construction, while managing and coordinating hundreds of suppliers.
Construction, launched in mid-2021, has advanced Phase 1 developments, including Parcel 5 (apartments and schools) and Parcel 4 (R&D and offices), covering over 1 million sq m. Both parcels are on track for completion and phased handover to Tencent operations in Q4 2025.
The master plan divides the campus into five distinct yet interconnected parcels, emphasizing human-centric and sustainable design. The development fosters a cohesive, organic ecosystem featuring barrier-free accessibility, green and low-carbon initiatives (with Parcel 4 certified as a net-zero carbon campus), infrastructure supporting L4 autonomous driving, and more.
Tencent "Penguin Island" Master Plan rendering. This "unlocked map" highlights the far-right Parcels 4 and 5. © Tencent 2025
Inaugural Parcel 5 embodies the campus's future-living vision. It includes the Penguin Apartments, Mingwan and Qianwan Schools, and an activity center. Designed by MVRDV, the eleven apartment towers, arranged around four courtyards and ranging from 57 to 100 meters in height, offer stunning sea and bay views alongside premium, AI-enhanced amenities. Priority leasing is available for Tencent employees, with fully furnished, move-in-ready units.
The Parcel 5 west school and community complex, designed by Perkins&Will, comprises a public G1–G9 school, a private school, a community activity center, and a bus transit hub. The innovative "clover" layout of Mingwan School fosters a shared, flexible, multi-dimensional, and interdisciplinary learning environment geared toward the future of education. The public school's construction has been completed, and it is now ready to welcome students.
Tencent's new "Penguin Island" HQ Parcel 5. © Tencent 2025
Due to the project's cutting-edge design, mega-scale, complexity, rigorous quality standards, international and domestic collaboration, and tight schedule, Tencent selected Arcadis to provide integrated PMO, PM, and CCM/QS services to support its in-house teams throughout development and construction.
- Project Management Office (PMO): Coordinates design management, contract management, and operations across the project cluster to ensure efficiency.
- Project Management (PM): Oversees construction planning, approvals, scheduling, quality, safety, HSE, environmental compliance, risk management, commissioning, handover, and more for each phase.
- Cost and Commercial Management (CCM): Manages quantity surveying, engineering costs, and contract administration for the overall project and individual phases.
Weibin Xu, Head of Greater China at Arcadis, stated: "Our Arcadis teams are proud to support Tencent's talented client teams with integrated services, including PMO, PM, and CCM/QS, collaborating effectively with global experts and China's robust construction supply chains to achieve the project’s goals in progress, quality, safety, cost, sustainability, innovation, and more."
Following the opening of Parcel 5, Parcel 4 will also gradually reach construction completion and handover for operation, offering R&D, office, conference, and exhibition spaces. The futuristic UFO-like "Cloud" buildings, designed by MAD Architects, will provide Tencent employees and partners with more office options and innovative new work environments.
