A firm of Shipley architects has beaten off competition to design an iconic building for one of China's fastest-growing cities.

Work is about to begin on the eye-catching 26 storey Hibiscus Building in the booming south western city of Chengdu in the fast-growing Sichuan province.

Astonishingly, the flower-inspired office block is likely to be finished by late autumn or early winter as construction crews work around the clock.

The deal follows a partnership between Robinson Architects and a Chinese practice called Jizhun Fangzhong Architectural Design Associates (JZFZ) based in the city.

A seven-strong team from JZFZ and the Chinese developers has just completed a week-long visit to the UK which included a visit to Robinson's Merchant's Quay headquarters.

For the company, part of The Robinson Design Group, the contract is a great leap forward as it secures a foothold in a lucrative new market. It is also a bigger venture than the respected design firm has been used to. Work is about to begin on the £10 million, 100 metre tall building which will also have high-class shops, business and conference centres and even a tea house.

Robinson Design Group's managing director Alan Rae said the company's reputation and its Britishness had helped cement the deal and led to their selection ahead of Chinese and US architects on the developer's shortlist. "What they want from us is Western design and Western design skills so that we can put a Western signature on new buildings because this adds a premium to the value," said Mr Rae.

Robinson Architects, which designed another building in Chengdu last year, is now poised to set up its own office in a city whose economy is growing even faster than China's as a whole.

Tony Mobbs, the managing director of Robinson Architects, who visited Chengdu to meet JZFZ's chairman said the two organisations had spent nine months building a relationship.

He said: "It's also a fantastic opportunity for our staff to swap jobs. We've already had some volunteers."