In Jiading, Shanghai, T.E.N’s Green Island project is redefines a power substation as a public intervention for sustainability. Recently awarded Gold in the 2025 Urban Design & Architecture Design Awards, this 110kV facility designed by Xudong Zhu aims to be more than an electrical node, it is a “breathing, growing, energy-storing” landmark merging utility with nature.
The design features a double-skin façade with different treatments on each side. On the east and south, solar photovoltaic panels are prominent. These include mechanically operable panels that in winter stay vertical to capture low-angle sunlight, and in summer tilt to shade and ventilate. On the north and west sides, the residential facing zones, use perforated aluminium panels embedded with planting troughs, forming living green walls that shift with the seasons, softening the station’s form and filtering urban conditions
Additionally the southern façade projects outward to create a linear street park, transforming what was once an inactive boundary into a vibrant public street park. The shift converts a static infrastructure boundary into a pedestrian-friendly zone connecting a neighbourhood, plaza, and kindergarten.
With its roof area covered in photovoltaic surfaces, Green Island reframes the utility of public infrastructure, demonstrating that energy infrastructure can serve ecology, aesthetics, and society at once. Green Island integrates seamlessly into urban life functioning both as energy and nature generating.
