Tower Of Time / ZXD Architects

Architects: ZXD Architects
Area: 470 m²
Year: 2019
Photography: Zhepeng Zhang, Simon Zhao
Lead Architects: Xiaodi Zhu
Design Team: Simon Zhao, Yuedong Ma, Tao Zhang
Cooperated Artist: Bingyi
Steel Structure Consultant: BIAD – 4A7
Steel Structure Construction: Nanjing Ningsheng Steel Structure Engineering Co., Ltd.
Architectural Lighting Design: Puri Lighting Design
Lighting Engineering: Longteng Lighting Group
Site Technical Director: Yanbing Zheng
General Planner: Xiaolan Wang
City: Nanjing Youth Olympic Park, Nanjing, Jiangsu
Country: China

Completed in December 2019, the Tower of Time stands as a centerpiece of the Nanjing Youth Olympic Light and Art Festival. Designed by architect Zhu Xiaodi in collaboration with artist Bingyi, the 470-square-meter installation fuses architecture, art, and technology into a striking urban landmark. Its layered disks and surrounding rising screens form a dynamic three-dimensional structure that transforms with daylight and artificial illumination, creating shifting patterns of light and shadow. Advanced projection technology animates the installation, with five synchronized projectors displaying Bingyi’s cross-media works while integrated lighting effects connect the external environment to the tower’s interior. Positioned along the Nanjing Youth Olympic Cultural Axis, the installation merges traditional Chinese conceptions of time with a contemporary architectural language. The structure also serves as a versatile cultural venue, functioning as a stage, exhibition space, and gathering point that extends the experience of art and architecture into the city.

To explore the uniqueness shared by Eastern and Western cultures, it is essential to expand the boundaries of architecture, incorporate the thinking of contemporary art, and create “architectural installations” that convey concepts and evoke emotions. To quickly establish widespread recognition and impression, it is necessary to enable effective interaction between the architectural entity, its multiple textual representations, and the viewers. The architectural entity should be used to accurately convey cultural concepts, social awareness, and the creator’s personal insights. Only by being deeply rooted in the unique temporal‑spatial attributes and distinct characteristics of the site where the architecture is located can we ensure the precision of the concepts and thereby trigger deep empathy.
Interview with Zhu Xiaodi of ZXD Architects

The Tower of Time approaches the elusive concept of time through an architectural and artistic lens. Rather than presenting a static monument, the installation offers an evolving visual experience that unfolds differently under the shifting conditions of day and night. Its composition of stacked and interwoven disks, coupled with screens that rise around the structure, generates a spatial dialogue that moves between the tangible and the abstract. This interplay transforms the tower into a vessel that both captures and expresses the flow of time.

Embedded within the design is a cultural dimension rooted in Chinese thought. Ancient traditions understood time not merely as chronological measurement but as a lived experience shaped by the cycles of nature. Through the Tower of Time, this philosophy finds form in an architectural work that guides viewers to look upward toward the sky, aligning personal perception with a broader sense of cosmic rhythm.

Technology reinforces this conceptual foundation. The use of high-precision projection systems allows artist Bingyi’s multimedia works to be seamlessly integrated into the structure. Light becomes a primary building material, animating the architecture and extending its narrative capacity. By synchronizing the tower’s internal lighting with external projections, the installation achieves a unity of form and atmosphere, offering audiences an immersive encounter that blurs the boundary between performance, exhibition, and architectural presence.

The result is an installation that redefines the relationship between architecture and light. The tower does not exist as a passive backdrop for artistic display; instead, it becomes an active participant in the creation of meaning. Its surfaces absorb, reflect, and transmit light in ways that expand the possibilities of architectural expression, situating it within a growing field of media-integrated design.

Beyond its symbolic and technical achievements, the Tower of Time functions as a cultural stage within Nanjing’s Youth Olympic Park. Its open and adaptable spaces recall traditional architectural typologies such as the pavilion and terrace, yet its technological infrastructure positions it firmly in the contemporary era. It is both a gathering point and a contemplative object, encouraging visitors to reflect on their relationship with time and to experience it through a poetic synthesis of space, light, and movement.

As a landmark of the Light and Art Festival, the Tower of Time illustrates how architecture can articulate themes that transcend physical form. By channeling both philosophical traditions and cutting-edge technology, it offers a multidimensional experience that resonates with audiences in ways both personal and collective. In doing so, it affirms the continuing role of architecture as a medium through which cultural values are explored, expressed, and shared.