Case Study: Sun Tower with Phenomena Space

Sun Tower is an oceanfront public cultural facility in Yantai Yeda Development Zone, featuring outdoor theater, digital exhibition spaces, library, café and bar. Atop the summit is a unique semi-outdoor “Phenomena Space”. Archeological discoveries revealed that Yantai was among the earliest places in China where ancient sun-worshipping culture emerged. OPEN designed the Sun Tower to capture and celebrate natural phenomena, re-establishing people’s connection with nature’s spiritual power while bringing much-needed cultural and communal facilities to the new urban district. The geometry of Sun Tower is sculpted by the movement of the sun observed from the site. The northern edge of the building’s outer shell is parallel to the noon sunlight on the equinoxes. The outdoor theater’s axis points towards sunrise over the legendary Zhifu Island on summer solstice, while the entrance tunnel aligns with sunset on the winter solstice. The roof’s circular outline lies on a plane perpendicular to midday sunlight on the summer solstice.