This Brutalist Visitor’s Center Has Its Own Towering Observation Turret
Nestled just off the coast of the Yellow Sea, China’s Shandong province is a crucial religious and cultural epicenter, with the region being home to a myriad of sites of significance to followers of Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, and Confucianism. And while it doesn’t draw in the same number of foreigners as areas like Shanghai, Beijing, or Shenzhen, it nonetheless attracts throngs of tourists from inside China. And this increased traffic is what ultimately prompted the construction of the Rongcheng Good Luck Corner & Tourism Resort in Rongcheng, Shandong.
Complete in 2018, the visitor center spans nearly 280-square meters and is built atop a shallow pond in the middle of an open plane surrounded by mountain ranges. Design by Hua Li TAO of the Trace Architecture Office, the visitor center is comprised of a main, single-story structure made from steel-reinforced concrete, while the end of the building connects to the site’s five-story observation tower — the latter of which is climbed via a spiraling internal staircase. For more information on the project, you can check out the architecture firm’s website below.
