The Group of Architects (GOA) has completed an extraordinary open-air theater in Yixing, Jiangsu Province, China, that serves as a unique performance venue designed for both birds and humans to share the same stage. The Earth Valley Theater, spanning 9,200 square meters, was specifically built to house "Dancing with the Birds," a Sino-French ecological narrative show directed by Fan Yue.

The innovative theater is strategically embedded into a valley at the edge of Yaohu Town, creating what lead architect Xu Qi describes as "an adventure of humans, nature, and the mind." According to Xu Qi, "Space is no longer a shelter, but a question: how far are we from nature, and how close are we to ourselves?" The project treats architecture, landscape, avian behavior, and performance as a single interconnected system rather than separate elements.

The design draws heavily from local materials and cultural heritage, as Yixing is renowned for its pottery tradition and proximity to dense bamboo forests. GOA transformed these two regional elements—clay and bamboo—into contemporary, weather-resistant architectural forms. The clay volumes that shape the theater's land-art geometry feature carved concrete that was CNC-processed to control the structure's mass, followed by on-site hand-sculpting by skilled craftsmen to create detailed surface textures.

For the bamboo elements, which appear prominently in the central stage installation and aviary facades, the architects chose high-density polyethylene over natural fiber to simulate woven bamboo textures. The team combined components in three different tones to create softly mottled surfaces that capture the aesthetic of traditional bamboo weaving while providing superior durability against weather conditions.

The theater's design philosophy centered on working with the site's natural topography rather than imposing structures upon it. The soft, branching valley shaped the theater's form long before any construction began, with the Chinese architects allowing the building to dissolve into the terrain using the natural slopes as containers for the performance space. A stepped plinth faces the road and houses the main public programs, creating a visual barrier between everyday town life and the immersive theatrical environment beyond.

Visitors enter through one of three entrance halls, leaving the urban environment behind as they transition into what functions as a constructed dreamscape for the performance. Behind the entrance plinth, the 2,000-seat auditorium opens toward the surrounding hills, which serve a dual purpose as both the birds' familiar natural habitat and the theatrical backdrop for performances. The design team maximized the use of level ground while allowing the theater's edges to follow the land's natural contours.

A perpendicular valley houses the specially designed aviaries, where quieter terrain creates a sheltered corridor for the birds. During performances, flocks of white storks emerge from this protected area at the show's climactic moments, creating a spectacular integration of wildlife and theatrical presentation.

The most challenging aspect of the project involved designing from the birds' perspective, requiring a planning approach unfamiliar to traditional theater architecture. The design process began with careful consideration of flight paths, species-specific behaviors, and sensory thresholds of the avian performers. Avian consultants guided the entire process from initial concept through completion, ensuring the theater would function effectively for its feathered stars.

Bird safety and comfort drove many micro-scale design decisions throughout the project. The architects applied dot stickers to glass surfaces to prevent bird collisions, used thermally treated timber to line the aviaries to avoid paint toxicity while maintaining outdoor durability, and varied ground gravel, mesh sizes, and enclosure partitions according to different bird species' body sizes and behavioral patterns.

The seating arrangement required precise calibration of slopes and height differences to accommodate the birds' flight patterns, allowing them to travel from their aviaries to zero-level boxes positioned above the auditorium before sweeping across the open performance space. Sometimes the birds glide just above visitors' heads, creating an immersive experience that balances excitement with safety and comfort for both human and avian participants.

Engineering solutions were integrated seamlessly into the natural landscape design. The sloped audience seating conceals a sophisticated network of cast-in drainage channels that merge with the valley's existing flood pathways, ensuring proper water management during China's rainy seasons. The sculpted clay landforms contain hidden cavities housing acoustic equipment that supports the multimedia effects essential to the show's ecological narrative.

For construction efficiency and precision, the aviaries utilize prefabricated light-steel components assembled from three standardized panel types, allowing for rapid construction while maintaining the flexibility needed for the birds' specific requirements. The studio's multidisciplinary team remained actively involved throughout the entire process from initial concept through final fabrication, continuously aligning technical systems with both performance needs and animal welfare requirements.

This groundbreaking project represents a new paradigm in performance venue design, demonstrating how architecture can successfully integrate human entertainment with wildlife conservation and environmental education, creating a space where the boundaries between natural habitat and constructed environment become beautifully blurred.