△ Architectural panorama © Mei Kejia
Horizontal and vertical. Rising and sinking. Insertion and suspension.
The building came to life through these very actions, bridging earth and sky, inviting visitors to meditate on nature.
——Huali
Jiming Island is a secluded island suspended in the sea, characterized by cliffs, rocks, and ever-changing sea levels, offering a profound sense of escape from the world.
Located atop a cliff, the site faces the vast northern sea, marking the land’s edge.
△ Original site appearance © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ Surrounding environment and site context © Architectural Firm (TAO)
The rugged brown mountain meets the clear, cold northern sea. In this natural setting, the concrete building appears as a giant stone, anchored at one end into the rocky mountain. Its roof extends the mountaintop’s earth toward the horizon. At the opposite end, it juts beyond the cliff’s edge, as if striving to break free from the mountain’s vastness and reach the sea—creating a dynamic tension between human creation and nature.
Concept sketch © Huali
△ 1:100 overall building model © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ Architectural panorama © Sun Xiangzhou
Descending the steps into the building feels like entering the mountain’s interior—surrounded by thick walls—before encountering the sea again at the projecting edge, evoking a sensation of floating above the water. The opening beneath the overhang offers a direct experience of the cliff’s vertical drop.
Concept sketch © Huali
△ 1:100 overall building model © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ 1:50 concrete profile model of coffee shop © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ Interior design rendering of the coffee shop © Architectural Firm (TAO)
View of the coffee shop from the cliff base © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Coffee shop © Mei Kejia
△ Coffee shop © Mei Kejia
Concept sketch © Huali
△ Roof viewing platform © Sun Xiangzhou
Indoor coffee shop © Sun Xiangzhou
The coffee shop offers breathtaking sea views © Mei Kejia
At the rear of the building, a secluded sea-view space is accessible only through a dim passage. Beyond a door lies a meditation room bathed in golden light, providing a tranquil retreat deep within the mountain.
△ Meditation space axonometric diagram © Architectural Firm (TAO)
Indoor coffee shop © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Corridor © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Sea view room © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Meditation room © Mei Kejia
△ Meditation room © Sun Xiangzhou
The coffee shop forms a horizontal plane stretching toward the horizon, while the residential tower rises vertically, reaching for the sky. The tower’s footprint measures only 4.5m by 4.5m, condensing into a pointed form amid the vast surrounding sea, gathering strength.
Concept sketch © Huali
△ 1:100 Residential Tower Model © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ Architectural panorama © Mei Kejia
△ Tower Residence © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Tower Residence vision © Mei Kejia
△ Tower Residence close-up © Mei Kejia
△ Tower Residence close-up © Sun Xiangzhou
Inside the tower, living spaces—study, bedroom, bathroom—that typically spread horizontally are arranged vertically from bottom to top. Each floor features windows of varying heights, angles, and sizes, offering diverse perspectives and moments of contemplation toward the sea.
△ Tower Residence plan © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ 1:50 Tower Residence profile model © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ Living room © Sun Xiangzhou
View toward the courtyard © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Tea room © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Stairs © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Tower Residence close-up © Mei Kejia
The bedroom offers views out to the sea © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Bathroom © Sun Xiangzhou
△ Tower Residence close-up © Sun Xiangzhou
Horizontal and vertical, rising and sinking, insertion and suspension—the building connects earth and sky through these movements, inviting contemplation of nature.
Construction Process
△ Construction aerial view © Hu Haining
△ Construction progress © Architectural Firm (TAO)
Project Drawings
△ General layout plan © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ Coffee shop roof plan © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ Coffee shop floor plan © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ Coffee shop sectional view © Architectural Firm (TAO)
△ Tower Residence profile © Architectural Firm (TAO)
Project Information
Project Name: Cliff Top Cafe and Tower Residence
Owner: Shandong Wanheng Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd
Location: Rongcheng, Shandong
Function: Coffee shop, homestay
Design Firm: TAO Architectural Firm
Lead Architect: Hua Li
Design Team: Huali, Liu Peiyi, Zhang Yiling, Liu Qiubing, Cheng Xiangju, Wang Langhuan, Wei Nan
Structural Engineer: Ma Zhigang
Mechanical and Electrical Engineers: Lv Jianjun and KCLIN Carlin Mechanical and Electrical Design
Building Area: 581 square meters
Structural System: Concrete Shear Wall Structure
Design Period: 2017–2018
Construction Period: 2018–2022
Photography: Mei Kejia, Sun Xiangzhou
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