Solar Tower is a Chinese language cultural attraction that attracts on the celestial cycle

Cone-shaped and searching in direction of the Yellow Sea, Solar Tower will not be your common cultural attraction. The work of Beijing studio Open Structure (and the winner of Greatest Constructing Website on the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024), the mission responded to an open-ended temporary to create an attraction for the actual setting by the shore, and because the Yantai area has an historic historical past of sun-worshipping, the architects determined to rejoice this ‘forgotten’ side of native tradition. Consequently, they sculpted a design based mostly on the sunshine’s trajectory by means of the day. A bit is sliced open in direction of the ocean, aiming to pay tribute to the solar, time and nature.

Solar Tower: guided by celestial actions

Meticulous calculations led to the constructing’s northern edge being parallel to the midday daylight of the equinoxes, whereas the doorway tunnel aligns with the sundown in the course of the Winter Solstice. The guts of the inside has been oriented with its central axis pointing in direction of the dawn over Zhifu Island on Summer season Solstice.

Interviewed for the awards final yr, the architects stated they hoped it is going to grow to be a landmark vacation spot for its seaside metropolis, connecting people and nature, its ‘aware design’ performing as a vessel for individuals to expertise and really feel in sync with their environment.

Apply principals Huang Wenjing and Li Hu wrote on the time: ‘Sitting on the steps beneath the parabolic shell, gazing into the distant ocean framed by the dramatic arch whereas the sounds of nature’s respiratory echo gently all through, one’s thoughts will step by step clear up.’

The Solar Tower was developed as a much-needed cultural hub for the area’s rising inhabitants and tourism, ‘fostering neighborhood engagement and elevating consciousness for environmental causes.’ It accommodates an out of doors theatre, exhibition areas, library, café and bar, and the Phenomena House, a particular multi-functional space with wonderful, lengthy views of the water past.

Fusing the ideas of a lighthouse, cultural centre, neighborhood hub, and sundial, the mission pays ‘tribute to nature and the passing of time’. To that finish, Solar Tower has additionally taken under consideration sustainable structure rules, working with passive methods to make the scheme environmentally pleasant.

Examples of this embody ‘lowering the constructing’s total power consumption, akin to using tunnel cooling for contemporary air provide, utilizing thermal mass to cut back indoor temperature fluctuation, enhancing cross-ventilation by operable openings on each shells, and eradicating scorching air by means of chimney impact’.

openarch.com