The Los Angeles based team of Studio SHIFT and SWA Group has been selected to create a master plan for the Sichuan Province, a developing area in China. The plan consists of SHIFT’s Miyi Tower that aims to promote the region’s heritage, and SWA Group’s design for a sustainable promenade.

The Miyi Tower sits at the edge of the Anning River. The spot marks the transition between the newly developed areas in the North with the agricultural districts of the South. A one kilometer long promenade connects the cultural hub devoted to regional arts on one end with the Miyi Tower at the other. Along the promenade, SWA Group created an abundance of public spaces that feature photovoltaic fields and wind turbines. The promenade disperses into rising paths that converge to form a bridge over the river, affording views of reclaimed wetlands.

The Miyi Tower, designed as an educational building for residents and tourists, is meant to act as a major landmark. The temperate climate of the region allows the tower’s programmatic elements to be interspersed between enclosed and open spaces. Double height enclosed spaces, such as an auditorium, exhibition space and restaurants, alternate with open spaces, such as gardens, an observation deck, and event areas, around the vertical core of the tower. A porous, yet continuous skin, gives the various programs their unified form. The skin is designed as a patterning of objects that are mounted to a light frame, rather than a series of perforations. This enables the appropriate panels on the skin to be lined with photovoltaic cells.

The energy producing tower, along with the ecological features of the promenade, will allow Miyi County to become the region’s leader in sustainability.