Cone-shaped and looking towards the Yellow Sea, Sun Tower is not your usual cultural attraction. The work of Beijing studio Open Architecture (and the winner of Best Building Site at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024), the project responded to an open-ended brief to create an attraction for the particular setting by the shore, and as the Yantai region has an ancient history of sun-worshipping, the architects decided to celebrate this ‘forgotten’ aspect of local culture. As a result, they sculpted a design based on the light’s trajectory through the day. A section is sliced open towards the sea, aiming to pay tribute to the sun, time and nature.
