Shantou University Ceremonial Bell Tower and Plaza

Guangdong, CHINA | 2013

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Maya Lin’s sixty-foot bell tower acts as a beacon for the campus. The design is composed of two elements: a simple metal arc that holds a suspended Chinese bell and a solid stone tower. The tower glows at night with its special embedded lights that are reminiscent of computer bit programming, a reference to technology and innovation.


The seemingly random arrangement of lights is actually part of a time-based constellation pattern that marks the date of the founding of the university. In addition to the lighting program for the bell tower and plaza, the project also involved lighting the campus gateway and the surrounding landscape, making the project a true hybrid of architecture and landscape design.

 

CLIENT
Shantou University

TEAM
Maya Lin Studio, architect
Andropogon, landscape architect

RECOGNITION
2015 ACEC New York Engineering Excellence Awards, Structural Systems – Silver Award

Photography: Courtesy of Maya Lin Studio