Set on the campus of Tsinghua University in Beijing, the Sino-Italian Ecological and Energy-Efficient Building is a collaborative project conceived to demonstrate the potential of energy-efficient construction and to provide a platform for long-term bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy and the environment. The building is largely closed on its north face, but opens out to the south with two stepped-down wings that enclose a sunlit courtyard. The terraces and office facades are shaded by photovoltaic elements that supply up to 20 kW of energy from 190 solar modules. The remaining facades are in a doubleskin form of construction. On the east and west faces, sunscreening is provided by horizontally printed glass panels hung on the outside and by horizontal shading elements in the intermediate space and on the inside, as well as by internal blinds.