Created in 1991, the MIPIM Awards celebrate the most sustainable and visionary real estate projects, aligned with ESG objectives. Awarded in 10 categories, they particularly recognize hotel-related buildings, such as Sky Mirrors, the 2025 winner
This specific trophy honors hospitality and tourism projects that emphasize long-term sustainability and how they enrich the local community. It was awarded to the Sky Mirrors project, built on a mountain in Luzhou, China, for the Sichuan Gulin Langjiu Distillery Co., with the French architectural firm Zone of Utopia, led by Zou Qiang and Mathieu Forest.
Here’s how Zone of Utopia describes their architectural approach:
“For this project, architecture is more than ever an opportunity for dialogue with nature, aiming to highlight it and reveal its beauty through contrast. Located in the heart of the extraordinary mountainous landscapes of southern Sichuan, at the top of a hill, architecture struggles to compete with such power.”
“That’s why we chose the option of absence: burying the program to leave the view from the top of the hill intact. The architecture seems to fade away, but it asserts itself through reflection, doubling the sky, creating the surreal image of an infinite horizon and a feeling of weightlessness.”
“Two mirrors suspended between the mountain and the sky amplify and magnify the landscape: above, the water mirror doubles the sky and creates infinity. Below, the steel mirror reflects the valley and creates an artificial sky beneath the sky.”
“At the top of the mountain, the building is completely buried to preserve the breathtaking view of the sky and the distant mountains.”
“Upon arriving at the site, we don’t yet perceive the building’s interior life. We only see the landscape, its reflection, and between the two, the surreal image of a mirrored volume suspended in the void.”
