GOA embeds open-air venue for humans and birds in China
GOA (Group of Architects) completes the Earth Valley Theater in Yixing, Jiangsu, China, a rare performance venue conceived as a shared system for birds and people. Built for Dancing with the Birds, a Sino-French ecological narrative show directed by Fan Yue, the 9,200-square-meter open-air theater sinks into a valley at the edge of Yaohu Town and treats architecture, landscape, avian behavior, and performance as a single intertwined project. ‘The Earth Valley Theater is an adventure of humans, nature, and the mind,’ says lead architect Xu Qi. ‘Space is no longer a shelter, but a question: how far are we from nature, and how close are we to ourselves?’
Materiality carries symbolic weight in Yixing, a region known for its pottery and situated near dense bamboo forests. GOA translated these two local elements, clay and bamboo, into contemporary, weather-resistant architectural forms. For the ‘clay’ volumes shaping the land-art geometry, carved concrete was CNC-processed to control its massing before craftsmen sculpted the surfaces by hand on site. ‘Bamboo’ appears in the central stage installation and in the aviaries’ facades. Instead of natural fiber, the team used high-density polyethylene to simulate woven bamboo textures, combining components in three tones to form softly mottled surfaces.
The sloped audience terrain hides a network of cast-in drainage channels that merge with the valley’s natural flood pathways. The sculpted ‘clay’ landforms contain cavities for acoustic equipment supporting the multimedia effects of the show. For efficiency and precision, the aviaries use prefabricated light-steel components combined from three standardized panel types.
all images © CHEN Xi Studio
Earth Valley Theater: architecture as land art
The design began with the topography of the site, a soft, branching valley that shaped the form of the theater long before any structure appeared. Instead of placing mass above ground, the Chinese architects at GOA let the building dissolve into the terrain, using the slopes as a natural container. A stepped plinth faces the road and concentrates the public program, creating a visual barrier between everyday life and the immersive environment beyond. Passing through one of three entrance halls, visitors leave the town behind and enter a space that functions almost as a constructed dreamscape for the performance.
Behind the plinth, the 2,000-seat auditorium opens toward the surrounding hills. The team aimed to use as much level ground as possible, allowing the edges of the theater to trace the land’s natural contours. Once the show begins, the hills, already part of the birds’ familiar environment, double as the theatrical backdrop. A second, perpendicular valley is given over to the aviaries, where quieter terrain creates a sheltered corridor from which flocks of white storks emerge at the climactic moment of the performance.
GOA completes the Earth Valley Theater in China
designing from the performers’ point of view
Because birds are the lead performers, Earth Valley Theater required a type of planning, unfamiliar to most theater architecture, that begins with flight paths, species-specific habits, and sensory thresholds. Avian consultants guided the process from the outset. Birds travel from their aviaries to ‘zero-level’ boxes above the auditorium before sweeping across the open space, sometimes gliding just above visitors’ heads. To achieve this, seating slopes and height differences were calibrated with precision, balancing immersion with safety and comfort for both species.
This bird-oriented design extended into the micro-scale. Dot stickers applied to glass prevent collisions. Thermally treated timber lines the aviaries to avoid paint toxicity while remaining durable outdoors. Ground gravel, mesh size, and enclosure partitions vary by species, reflecting differences in body size and behavior.
The studio’s multidisciplinary team participated continuously from concept to fabrication, aligning technical systems with performance needs.
a rare performance venue conceived as a shared system for birds and people
built for a Sino-French ecological narrative show directed by Fan Yue
the 9,200-square-meter open-air theater sinks into a valley at the edge of Yaohu Town
architecture, landscape, avian behavior, and performance become a single intertwined project
the team used high-density polyethylene to simulate woven bamboo textures
GOA translates clay and bamboo into weather-resistant architectural forms
the sloped audience terrain hides a network of cast-in drainage channels
the ‘clay’ volumes shape the land-art geometry
craftsmen sculpted the surfaces by hand on site
GOA let the building dissolve into the terrain
creating a visual barrier between everyday life and the immersive environment beyond
visitors leave the town behind and enter a space that functions almost as a constructed dreamscape
carved concrete was CNC-processed to control its massing
project info:
name: The Earth Valley Theater
architects: GOA (Group of Architects)
location: Yixing, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China
client: Jiangsu Mingling Yaohu Town Tourism Co., Ltd.
floor area: 9,200 square meters
director (dancing with the birds): Yueshang Studio
acoustic consultant: EZPro
environmental visual consultant: ToThree
aviary management: Puy du Fou
photographer: CHEN Xi Studio
The post GOA crafts an open-air theater in china where birds and humans share the same stage appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.