Tower is designed as a sundial in Shandong, China

OPEN Architecture designs a cultural space based on the passage of sunlight and the time it marks, translating the invisible energies of nature into built form. 

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

Open Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 site plan

Open Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 ground floor

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 digital floor exhibition

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 library floor plan

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 section

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 "phenomena space" at the top

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024 Diagram to capture movements of sun and sound of sea

Territorial marketing, cultural promotion and homage to ancestral culture that marked the phases of daily life with the rays of the sun. All this, in short, is the new cultural complex designed by OPEN Architecture recently inaugurated in Yantai, an industrial city in the northeastern province of Shandong that is experiencing rapid territorial growth in step with increasing tourist interest. The solemn volume evokes, in its grandiose dimensions, clarity of geometry and composition guided by the play of light and shadow, the visionary “architecture parlante” of Étienne-Louis Boullée, here catapulted to the shores of the Yellow Sea. The majestic parabolic calotte with a truncated cone section, 50 metres high and composed of two inclined white concrete shells connected by horizontal ramps and floors, houses the three main functions: at the base, a semi-open-air theatre for public events; in the hollow space between the two shells, a sinuous space that hosts multimedia exhibitions and viewpoints; at the top, a library and a viewing terrace (the “Phenomena space”) where an oculus in the roof allows rainwater to penetrate and fill a small pool in the summer season, then used as a fireplace in the winter. In the outdoor square, a pool with misting devices and gushing fountains completes the circular footprint of the building. Inside, the concave shell absorbs the sounds and breezes of the ocean, amplifying them through the structure.

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024. Photo Iwan Baan

Connecting to the ancient sun worship of the area, the building is conceived as a meridian that marks the passage of the seasons with light and shadow. Based on careful studies of solar movement, the northern edge of the building is parallel to the midday sun of the equinoxes, while the entrance tunnel aligns with the sunset during the winter solstice. The semi-open-air theatre is oriented with its central axis towards the sunrise on Zhifu Island at the summer solstice. In the outdoor square, a series of elliptical rings reminiscent of planetary orbits draw the stone pavement and, at the intersection with a water channel, mark the building's shadow at specific times on the equinoxes. In one of the outer rings, fountains synchronised with the high and low tide celebrate the 24 solar terms of the traditional Chinese calendar. Passive design strategies have guided the design of the work to reduce its environmental impact, from tunnel cooling to supply fresh air, to high thermal mass to reduce internal temperature fluctuations, to the targeted study of openings to favour cross-ventilation flows, to the expulsion of hot air thanks to the chimney effect. 

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024. Photo Iwan Baan

A simple but effective “machine” that turns the invisible energies of nature (air, light, shadow, sound and planetary orbits) into built form.

  • Sun Tower
  • OPEN Architecture
  • OPEN Architecture
  • Li Hu, Huang Wenjing
  • Lu Di, Daijiro Nakayama, Wang Dongsheng, Liu Dandi, Tang Junhan
  • Arup
  • Ning Field Lighting Design
  • Institute of Building Fireproof System, Cabr
  • dUCKS scéno
OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Photo Jonathan Leijonhufvud

Open Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

site plan

Open Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

ground floor

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

digital floor exhibition

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

library floor plan

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

section

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

"phenomena space" at the top

OPEN Architecture, Sun Tower, Yantai, China 2024

Diagram to capture movements of sun and sound of sea