The China-Swiss Zero Emission Buildings Project Exhibition, titled Building Type / Climate Zone, is currently on display at Langyuan Station in Beijing, marking a milestone in the five-year collaboration between China and Switzerland in advancing sustainable architecture and climate action.
Launched under the joint initiative of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD), the China-Swiss Zero Emission Buildings (ZEB) Project was conducted between 2021 and 2025.
Designed to address global climate change and promote the low-carbon transformation of the building sector, the initiative has served as a platform for knowledge exchange, scientific research, and pilot projects in green construction.
The exhibition, which runs from January 29 to February 13 and is open to the public free of charge, showcases the significant achievements of China-Swiss cooperation in zero-emission buildings.
Representatives from MOHURD and the Ambassador of Switzerland to China Krystyna Marty Lang attended the opening ceremony.
“Through this collaboration, Swiss expertise in sustainable construction and environmental protection techniques has met Chinese innovative technologies and futuristic design skills, concretely illustrating meaningful applications of zero emission building standards across China,” Marty Lang said.
Spanning multiple interactive and visual sections, the exhibition highlights the breadth of the project’s accomplishments and the depth of bilateral engagement.
It brings together research findings and real-world applications from ZEB projects in both countries, organised into three main displays.
The first section consists of hundreds of research reports curated by Swiss experts, visually presented as infographics and data-rich “experience summaries”.
The second features eight zero-emission demonstration buildings photographed by Swiss architectural photographers, capturing state-of-the-art sustainable design from across China.
The final section connects sustainability with heritage by reproducing Yingzao Fashi, China’s oldest architectural treatise, on solar panels using innovative silk screen printing techniques.
According to the Swiss Embassy, the ZEB initiative represents more than a scientific collaboration; it is a model for international partnership in tackling climate challenges.
Over the past five years, more than 100 experts from over 30 enterprises, research institutes, and universities in both countries have cooperated closely in three focus areas: standard research, demonstration projects, and capacity-building.
The project has already laid important groundwork for future cooperation in policy alignment, technology transfer, and industry training.
The collaboration has helped refine zero-emission building standards, advance carbon-neutral housing prototypes, and raise awareness of sustainable construction practices across China’s provinces.
In her remarks, Ambassador Marty Lang expressed her appreciation to partner institutions on both sides for their contributions to the initiative.
She noted: “The success of the ZEB project is not an end, but a beginning. It paves the way for new pilots, deeper standardisation work, and investments that bring us closer to a zero-emission future.”
By turning research into practice and blending cultural heritage with clean technology, the China-Swiss partnership continues to set an example for shared global responsibility in achieving carbon neutrality and sustainable urban development.
