As China’s capital for thirteen different dynasties, Xi’an, the city of peace, hosted a competition for a landmark skyscraper to celebrate its unique identity, and to mark its influential position in a new era of Chinese history.

Taking cues from Xi’an’s history and geography, the notions of strength, fluidity, and grace became our guiding principles of design. Our concept took the form of ribbon strands undulating in the wind.

Programmatically, the tower is composed of four elements: retail, office, luxury apartments, and a 7-star hotel. Driven by a program requirement of 220,000m2 and a limited footprint of 25 percent to site, the tower grew skywards.

Responding to it’s frenetic environment of busy streets and highways, the tower was designed with a landscaped curtain. Intended to shield its residents from both noise and visual pollution, the curtain additionally adds sustainable features to the complex. Operable, the curtain’s bubble includes a greenhouse which responds to changing seasons, utilizing temperature differences to naturally regulate otherwise costly energy expenditures.

As a submission for the city of Xi'an's landmark tower competition, our Ribbon Tower entry was chosen and commissioned through to the design development phase.