Deftly evoking its natural surroundings, Chapel of Sound is a small semi-outdoor concert hall that pursues the experience of sound in its purest form, collecting, reflecting and resonating nature itself. Resting at the base of a valley noted for holding remnants of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall.

The layered nature of its structure was a conscious design to reduce the complexity of construction in an almost inaccessible place without sophisticated machinery, while formally referencing the existing striated rock formations of the nearby mountains. In addition to two performance spaces – a semi-outdoor amphitheater and outdoor stage – the hall also includes supporting spaces and a rooftop viewing “plateau”, from which visitors can admire the valley and nearby Great Wall. When the sun is shining, the hall plays with sunlight in addition to sound.

When it rains, water can enter the hall through the central opening on the structure’s top, falling through it onto the floor in a meditative spectacle, before being drained away by floor channels. It becomes spiritual, even sacred, a chapel of sound for those seeking respite in the sounds of music and nature.