ARCHITECTURAL FOCUS
At the top of the structure sits the library and the‘ Phenomena Space’, offering outstanding views out to the sea.
OPEN Architecture has conceived the design as a celebration of the area’ s connection to the sun and sea. Grounded in local history— one of the earliest regions in China where ancient sun-worshipping took place and later, where Ming Dynasty-era watchtowers were erected— the design provides a contemporary take on the architectural typology of lighthouses, or rather a fusion of lighthouse, cultural center, community hub, and sundial, paying tribute to nature and the passing of time.
The curving volume features large openings on one side, with its viewing platforms and ground floor theatre exposed to the seafront. Standing at 50-metres tall, the building has been constructed from two layers of slanted concrete shells, connected and braced by horizontal slabs and ramps, created in close consultation with engineering firm Arup.
Informed by meticulous studies of the sun, the northern edge of the building is parallel to the noon sunlight of the equinoxes, while the entrance tunnel aligns with the sunset during the Winter Solstice. Sitting at the centre of the Sun Tower is a semioutdoor theatre, which has been orientated with its central axis pointing towards the sunrise over Zhifu Island on Summer Solstice.
Facing the ocean, the concave inner shell absorbs the sounds of the ocean, amplifying back through the structure, and down to the amphitheatre at the base. Radiating from the centre of the Plaza is a series of elliptical rings, resembling planetary orbits. A water channel is carved into the stone pavement. The intersections between the rings and the water channel mark the building shadow at specific hours during the equinoxes, and one outer ring features a series of fountains that celebrate the 24 solar terms of the traditional Chinese calendar.
At the top of the structure sits the library and the‘ Phenomena Space’, offering outstanding views out to the sea. The Phenomena Space provides a semioutdoor observation deck just below the summit of the building where an oculus opening overhead allows rainwater to enter and be collected in a serene pool installation.
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