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This pavilion, designed by architecture firm Semester Studio for a furniture exhibition in Shanghai, was built entirely using materials that were separated and returned to their source after the show. More
Chinese studio Neri&Hu has completed a hotel in Shanghai alongside the New Bund Performing Arts Centre, which was also designed by the studio.
Located in Pudong District, Artyzen New Bund 31 hotel forms part of a larger development called Qiantan, which includes an office tower and a shopping centre.
The scalloped details on the entrance facade is to resonate with the arches used in the adjacent performing arts centreThe hotel, which is connected directly to the New Bund Performing Arts Centre, contains a total of 202 guest rooms is a tower above a podium.
Alongside the entrance of the hotel on the ground floor, Neri&Hu created a scallop-shaped concrete facade to recall the arches of the performing arts centre.
A large circular opening allows natural light into the ground floor lobbyGuests can go to the hotel reception on the fifth floor either directly from this gound ground floor entrance or via a lounge on the third floor that connects to performing arts centre.
According to the Shanghai-based Neri&Hu, the hotel was conceived as having been carved from a single monolithic mass.
The ground floor lobby features a large circular opening punctuating the ceiling, inviting natural light flooding into the otherwise enclosed space.
The hotel is designed to be an “urban oasis”The firth floor, which is the top of the podium block, contains all the shared amenities including reception, lounges, restaurants, event spaces, and outdoor gardens.
The facilities were placed in pavilions, which were arranged in a stone landscape that acts as a garden-like experience for guests.
Neri&Hu captures “spirit of traditional alleyways” at Shanghai arts centre
“The hotel is envisioned as an urban oasis that takes its guests on a journey of surprise and discovery,” said Neri&Hu.
“With an abundance of outdoor landscape spaces, Artyzen Qiantan offers a rare experience in an urban hotel, a sense of respite and escape from the bustling city of Shanghai,” it continued.
A series of pavilions containing facilities are located on the fifth floor. Photo by Branston Partnership IncThe colour palette for the guest rooms was informed by traditional Chinese gardens, mindful of the nature theme that is consistent throughout the hotel.
Grey stone wraps the entry and bathroom of each room, while wooden bed frames bring a sense of warmth, with bronze metal details adding a touch of luxury. Custom furniture pieces by Neri&Hu create a sense of home and casualness for the guests.
Guest rooms were designed to create a home-like experienceNeri&Hu was founded by architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu in Shanghai in 2006. Along with the New Bund Performing Arts Centre, the studio recently completed a residential block in Taiwan.
The photography is by Pedro Pegenaute unless otherwise stated.
Project credits:
Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana HuAssociate-in-charge: Akrawit Yanpaisan, Scott HsuDesign team: Aleksandra Duka, Peng Guo, Danyan Jin, Andy Chen, Qiucheng Li, Elan Tao Tessie Wan, Paz Ma, Echo Li, Dania Angela Flores, Ambesh Suthar, Kathy Hu, Bella Lin, Greg Wu, Becky Zhang, Nicolas Fardet, Yin Sheng, Lili Cheng, Junho Jeon, Luna Hong, Lyuqitiao Wang, Haiou Xin, July Huang, Yuqi ZhongConsultants:Architect: Palmer & Turner ConsultantsCurtain wall consultant: Shanghai Zhulian Construction Engineering Co.Structural consultant: ArupMEP consultant: China Team Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd. Shanghai BranchLandscape consultant: East China Architectural Design & Research InstituteConstruction PM: AECOMLDI: Shanghai Tianhua Architecture Planning & EngineeringAcoustic consultant: SMW (Shanghai) Business Consulting Co.Art consultant: Art Front Gallery (Shanghai) Co.Interior LDI: Shanghai Modern Architectural Decoration Environmental Design Research Institute Co.Interior lighting: Branston Partnership Inc.Kitchen consultant: CKP Kitchen Design Consultant Co.Signage consultant: Shanghai Saichi Logo Design Engineering Co.QS: ArcadisContractors:Contractor (GC): Shanghai Construction No.4(Group) Co.Curtain wall: Wuxi Hengshang Decoration Engineering Co.Hotel public area interior: Shanghai Construction Decoration (Group) Co.Hotel guest room interior: Shanghai Haihua Construction & Decoration Engineering Co.
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Models, sketches and photos of works by architects and designers including Neri&Hu, Büro Ole Scheeren, Paul Priestman and FOG Architecture feature in Dezeen’s Global China: Connecting The World Through Design exhibition in Shanghai.
Taking place during the World Design Cities Conference (WDCC) in Shanghai last month, Global China: Connecting The World Through Design showcased work by both Chinese and international architects and designers that bridge east and western ideologies.
The exhibition space is designed by FOG ArchitectureThe exhibition features the work of six architecture and design studios, which were selected by Dezeen to demonstrate the breadth and depth of interesting work being completed in China.
Featuring models, sketches, photography and films, the exhibition aims to demonstrate how international collaboration and cultural exchange can foster innovation while showcasing China’s influence as a growing design power.
FOG Architecture presented a model of To Summer flagship store in BeijingThe exhibition space, designed by FOG Architecture, featured a series of architecture models on a central table, with hanging graphic boards hanging from a curved rail for visitors to look through.
Three models from Chinese architecture studio Neri&Hu occupied the centre of the table, including Waterhouse at South Bund, Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat and Nantou City Guesthouse, that focus on adaptive-reuse and historic preservation.
Neri&Hu presented three of their most well-known projects”We believe that urban fabric and architectural memory should be preserved with a critical approach that exemplifies the zeitgeist within the specificity of context,” said the Shanghai-based studio.
“Our built works show the possibility of creating unexpected spatial experiences in historic buildings, giving them new life.”
The twisted Tencent Helix is one of Ole Scheeren’s highlighted projectsBüro Ole Scheeren also presented three models, the Axiom, Tencent Helix and Shenzhen Wave, that best represent the studio’s futuristic vision for China’s urban landscape.
AIM Architecture created AIM City, a curated collection of the studio’s projects that form an experimental city concept for renewal and innovation.
AIM Architecture created an utopia urban city focused on renewal and innovation”Every street and building are reimagined, offering unexpected moments and fresh possibilities, embodying our vision of continuous urban evolution,” said the studio.
“Past, present, and future merge in a dynamic landscape of regeneration and sustainability.”
Paul Priestman showcased his latest Viewpoint conceptBritish transport designer Priestman presented his latest work Viewpoint, a sightseeing ship where all passengers would have undisrupted views of cityscapes. Also on display are hydrogen powered locomotives concept Inter-Freight as well as his previous designs for China high-speed trains.
Chinese furniture designer Min Chen presented a bench called A Piece of Wood, that used Chinese traditional kite frame made of bamboo with the shape informed by airplane wings. His work is known for its modern expression in traditional materials and craftsmanship.
Min Chen presented a bench that utilises Chinese craftsmanshipFOG Architecture presented ToSummer Flagship in Beijing Guozijian, which was crowned Interior Project of the Year at Dezeen Awards China last year. Others on display are HCH Showroom for Shanghai Fashion Week and Cycle Cycle Portable Bakehouse, which was longlisted at this year’s Dezeen Awards.
The photography is by Xiaobin Lyu.
Global China: Connecting The World Through Design exhibition ran from 27 to 30 September on the third floor of Dingbo Building as part of World Design Cities Conference 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
Media partnership
Dezeen curated the Global China: Connecting The World Through Design exhibition for WDCC as part of a media partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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Interior design studio Linehouse has renovated an office in Shanghai using numerous materials and art from a local gallery.
Linehouse refurbished the ground floor of a three-storey building in Shanghai that The Independents global marketing group have occupied in Shanghai for numerous years.
The office is located in a three-storey building in ShanghaiThe 374-square-metre space was designed as a communal area for the staff working on the floors above.
It includes a reception area, meeting rooms, pantry and communal eating space as well as a flexible deskspace for twenty people.
Metal curtains are used to blur the boundary between different functional spacesAdditionally, an art installation area has been integrated, taking advantage of the high lofty ceiling of the space, which will be used for monthly rotational curation.
Linehouse aimed to create a destination by presenting art from a local gallery, which will be rotated monthly, in the space. Combined with numerous materials and abstract furniture pieces, the studio forms what the studio called an “unexpected collection”.
The entrance features a circular seating installation wrapped in metal curtain”The support of the client to design an office that pairs unexpected combinations of materials was refreshing and a challenge,” said Linehouse.
“The result is a space that allows art to breathe and creates a welcoming, natural and open place of work.”
The workstations are located in a sunken seating areaThe spaces are each defined by different materials. Marine plywood was used for the wall of the reception and pantry area, separating them from the meetings rooms. The same plywood was used for to the workstations located in a sunken seating area.
A circular seating area was wrapped in a metal curtain, with five-meter-high curtains used to divide other spaces.
Linehouse transforms Shanghai swimming pool into office space
A customised table, made from different shaped pieces of marble and laminates, is used for meetings and dining.
Other tables in the meeting room features unique surfaces — one being a patchwork of timber textures and the other a gradient of glass transparency, from solid black to transparent.
“The design challenges the traditional notion of an office to promote a healthier and creative mindset to collaboration and communication, with emphasis on openness and autonomy for how staff use and occupy the spaces,” Linehouse concluded.
Marine plywood is used on the walls of the pantryLinehouse is a Hong Kong and Shanghai-based architecture and interior design studio established in 2013 by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling.
The duo won the emerging interior designer of the year category at the 2019 Dezeen Awards.
Meeting rooms feature custom made tablesThe studio has also recently designed a greenhouse-informed food market in Shanghai and the facade of a shopping centre in Bangkok.
The photography is by Dirk Weiblen.
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Chinese studio Neri&Hu has completed two retail spaces for Shanghai fashion company Jisifang, using wood and concrete to evoke “a more primitive state of being”.
The two adjacent stores are located at Panlong Tiandi development in Shanghai. One was designed for Jisifang Boutique and the other for its sister brand Woven Moonlight, also owned by Jisifang.
Neri&Hu has designed two adjacent stores in ShanghaiAccording to the Shanghai-based studio, each store was tailored to its distinct brand identities and varying spatial requirements.
A wooden house was inserted into the 110-square-metre Jisifang Boutique, the sloping roof of which takes advantage of the full height space to create a “spacious sanctuary”, the studio said.
A wooden house structure was inserted into Jisifang Boutique”The design concept is inspired by French architecture theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier’s Primitive Hut, said to be the fundamental prototype of all architecture,” explained Neri&Hu.
“Stripped of decoration and style, the primitive hut establishes a relationship between humans and the natural world, providing both shelter and a connection to nature,” it added.
White oak furniture creates a warm interiorA long table and benches made of white oak are placed at the centre of the space, with fashion garments displayed at the lower end of both sides of the roof.
Handmade ceramic floor tiles with muted colours were used throughout the space, referencing the warm and natural textures of the linen products that the brand is known for.
Glass bricks with rustic metal lining are featured on the facadeThe facade features glass bricks lined with rustic metal elements, inviting natural light and framing views of the bustling retail street outside into the shop.
In contrast, Neri&Hu created a cave-like shelter made of concrete for the 200-square-metre Woven Moonlight.
Neri&Hu divides Shanghai fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens
Concrete walls enclose the main display area, which features carved-out display niches. These have been lined with translucent linen curtains and fitted with custom-built walnut cabinetry, contrasting the roughness of the concrete.
A double-pitch sloped ceiling was clad with the same concrete as the walls. Skylights on the ceiling, as well as full-height glass windows on one side, fill the space with plenty of natural light.
Linen and walnut wood contrast the concrete in Woven Moonlight”In the case of both the wooden hut and the cave-dwelling, we are exploring the original space of our humanity, harkening a return to a more primitive state of being,” said Neri&Hu.
“We hope that when people touch the linen fabric of Jisifang, their mood and spirit may transcend the urban environment, back to nature,” it continued.
The Wooven Moonlight store features a double-pitch sloped ceiling clad with concreteNeri&Hu was founded by architects Lyndon Neri and Rosanna Hu in 2004 in Shanghai.
The studio also recently completed a simplicity contemporary art gallery, and a fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens, both in Shanghai.
The photography is by Pedro Pegenaute.
Project credits:
Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana HuAssociate-in-charge: Siyu ChenDesign team: Greg Wu, Jinghan Li, Nicolas Fardet, Saint Xu, Shuan Wu, Yinan Zhu, Yoki YuFF&E design and procurement: Design RepublicLighting Consultant: DLX Lighting DesignContractor: Nantong Huaqiang Construction
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Architecture studio Linehouse has wrapped a food market in a Shanghai laneway neighbourhood around a central atrium informed by Victorian greenhouses.
Named Foodie Social, the 2,000-square-metre food market is located within the Hong Shou Fang community – a residential area in Shanghai’s Putuo district known for its classic “longtang” laneway architecture.
The food market is in a two-storey grey brick building in ShanghaiThe entrance to the two-storey market was framed by a double-height arrangement of stacked recycled red bricks, with a corten steel canopy added to provide shelter.
The same recycled red bricks sourced from demolished houses in China can also be found on the interior walls, stacked to create three dimensional patterns.
The glass pitched roof is lined with a gently curved metal trussA large glass door can be pulled open on warm days, with patterned paving from the laneway outside extending to the interior of the market, fully connecting the interior and exterior.
The interior of the market was designed to resemble a greenhouse, with shops and cafe’s arrranged around a central, double-height atrium.
The glass pitched roof above the atrium was lined with gently curved metal truss, in reference to Victorian greenhouses, with three large fans hanging from the metal truss to improve the air circulation.
Some vendors are designed to be retractable to allow flexibilityA cafe in the atrium, which contains an olive tree planted into the ground, integrates a metal staircase that leads to the upper floor.
A area describes as a “stage” is located by the staircase with a series of undulating balconies wrapped around the atrium on the upper floor.
Overlapping concrete arches frame Bangkok shopping centre by Linehouse
Various typologies of food vendors are arranged in the open atrium on the ground floor, some of which are designed to be retractable, allowing flexibility for different types of vendors as well as a large open event space to be formed at the centre.
“This new typology brings together the local with more curated food offerings in a contemporary yet humble and sustainable way,” explained Linehouse’s Shanghai team who are responsible for the design.
Recycled red bricks can be found both on the facade and interior wallsSmaller snack shops were positioned on the ground floor, while larger restaurants occupy the upper floor.
Each stall was assembled from a kit of parts, so that the vendors are able to create their own signage and layout, but maintain a consistent material and lighting palette.
Larger restaurants are located on the upper floorLinehouse is a Hong Kong and Shanghai-based architecture and interior design studio established in 2013 by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling. The duo won the emerging interior designer of the year category at the 2019 Dezeen Awards.
The studio has also recently designed the facade of a shopping centre in Bangkok and the interiors for a Hong Kong residence that respond to coastal views.
The photography is by Wen Studio.
Project credits:
Design principal: Alex MokAssociate-in-charge: Cherngyu ChenDesign team: Yeling Guo, Fei Wang, Wang Jue, Norman Wang, Aiwen Shao, Mia Zhou, Yunbin Lou, Xiaoxi Chen, Tom Grannells
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Dutch firm UNStudio has revealed a two-storey flagship store for Chinese technology company Huawei in Shanghai with a facade clad in ivory-coloured petal-like forms.
Drawing from Huawei’s global operating system, named Harmony, UNStudio’s design aimed to generate biophilic associations between the brand and its technology by integrating organic geometric shapes throughout the scheme.
UNStudio has completed the Huawei flagship store in Shanghai with a petal-like facade”Among the many interfaces found in retail nowadays, the flagship store we have created for Huawei in Shanghai is one that blends interactive experiences, technology and community creation,” UNStudio founder and principal Ben van Berkel said.
“The new store reimagines modern retail spaces as inviting environments that promote a sense of community and provide a contemporary venue for consumers and visitors to meet, share and innovate,” he continued.
The store’s southern facade integrates undulating floor-to-ceiling glazing. Image courtesy of HuaweiThe store’s double-height frontage is defined by a series of overlapping elements that the studio described as “petal-like”, which fold together to form a raised band across the facade glazing.
Each ivory-coloured ‘petal’ weaves down to meet the ground as ‘stems’, configured to hide the structural mullions between glass panels and create the sense of a frameless facade.
Soft lighting was also integrated between the petal edges to illuminate the store’s exterior at night.
A spiralling column was positioned as a visual marker within the central atriumPositioned directly behind the facade, a spiralling column named the Tree of Harmony continues the organic geometries internally.
The column was positioned to the side of the central atrium as a focal point for visitors and is wrapped by stairs that lead to the upper mezzanine floor.
To further the store’s biophilic character, the southern facade was finished with undulating glazing and seating that folds around the building’s curves.
The studio used neutral and clean internal finishes to complement the ivory-coloured store frontageInternal finishes were kept warm and neutral to match the facade’s clean tones and extensive white overhead lighting.
The studio used wood and glassfibre-reinforced cement for the store’s ceilings, floor and columns, while product tables and furniture were also made from wood and natural-toned materials to add to the organic feel of the space.
UNStudio designs “urban speaker” as HQ of K-pop music agency
According to UNStudio, the store integrates high-performance materials and prefabricated, detachable finishes to increase the building’s longevity, while the quality of the air inside the store is monitored by climate control technology.
“Huawei TKL flagship store re-crafts Huawei’s innovative technology into a design aesthetic,” UNStudio partner Hannes Pfau said.
“It seamlessly creates a unified facade and interior narrative, while using high-performance, certified and recycled materials.”
A central product display avenue spans the length of the storeThe store has a central product display avenue that spans the length of the ground floor, with two further experiential zones interspersed for increased user interaction.
A Signature Experience zone will host featured events and exhibits, while the Consumer Full Scenario Experience zone lets visitors use and test Huawei products.
Undulating floor-to-ceiling glazing was used for the store’s southern facadeBoth floors were designed with open and flexible spaces in which the store can host lectures, activities and classes.
To complete the store’s functional offerings, UNStudio also created a minimalist interior cafe to blend with the rest of the store for customers awaiting after-sale services.
The store hosts flexible spaces to be used by the communityUNStudio was founded in Amsterdam in 1998 by Van Berkel and Caroline Bos.
The studio has also recently completed the Booking.com headquarters in Amsterdam and the YG Entertainment headquarters in Seoul featuring metallic surfaces and geometric forms.
The photography is by Wen Studio unless otherwise stated
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Chinese studio Neri&Hu has designed a contemporary art gallery for Ota Fine Arts in Shanghai with a focus on the “sublime beauty of the banal”.
The gallery sits on the ground floor of a mixed-use tower at Rockbund, a development amidst the historical Bund in Shanghai along the Huangpu River, where a series of restored colonial art deco buildings are located.
The entrance of the gallery features an oversized sliding door”The primary design challenge was to utilise the areas along the facade for both storage and display, blurring the distinction between functional and experiential space,” explained Neri&Hu.
“This deepened threshold condition found on both facades defines the visitor’s arrival sequence and journey within.”
The facade of the gallery is framed in aged steel to contrast the contemporary galleryThe facade of the gallery was framed in aged steel, with portions of solid metal and large glass panels arranged to form a window display for the artworks.
Handmade ivory tiles line the inner side of the window in a subtle woven pattern, serving as a neutral backdrop for the art pieces.
A warehouse-sized door can be fully open on the west facade for easy transport of large art piecesAn oversized sliding door marks the entry to the gallery on the eastern facade. When opened, the entrance of the gallery is revealed, with the outer sliding door framing the window display next to it.
When closed, the door slides back to its original position and allows the full-height glazed window to be exposed.
The western facade features a warehouse-sized door that can be fully opened using a custom-designed handle. This allows large artworks to be delivered directly from a designated parking area into the gallery.
Neri&Hu divides Shanghai fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens
Neri&Hu also added fluted glass to the exterior, which glows in the evening to illuminate the adjacent Rockbund courtyard and add elegance to the functional facade.
Inside the gallery, the 350 square-metre space is divided into two zones – a 150-square-metre main public viewing gallery and a private zone that houses VIP rooms and office space.
The pared-back, white VIP rooms feature contemporary furniture pieces with custom-made white tiles and a stained oak floor and were designed to create a relaxing environment, in which the attention can be focused on the art itself.
The interior of the gallery has a neutral and simplistic tone”The project’s understated material palette and overall conceptual underpinning lies in the juxtaposition of old and new, raw and refined, ordinary and spectacular,” said Neri&Hu.
“We hope one can appreciate the sublime beauty of the banal, as much as the brilliance of contemporary art,” it added.
Clean white rooms are intended to highlight the art pieceNeri&Hu was founded by architects Lyndon Neri and Rosanna Hu in 2004 in Shanghai.
Other recent projects completed by the studio include the Sanya Wellness Retreat hotel on the Chinese island of Hainan and a fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens.
The photography is by Zhu Runzi.
Project credits:
Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana HuAssociate-in-charge: Jacqueline MinSenior interior designer-in-charge: Phil WangDesign team: Rovi QuFF&E procurement: Design RepublicContractors: ETQ Project (Shanghai) Limited
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Chinese interiors studio RooMoo has used nearly 6,000 pieces of oak from discarded distillery barrels to adorn this whiskey bar in Shanghai.
Laizhou Bar is located in the city’s buzzy Xuhui District and is an offshoot of Laizhou Distillery, a Chinese whiskey producer based out of Sichuan province.
Wood offcuts from Laizhou Distillery’s whiskey barrels feature across the bar’s facadeThe distillery prides itself on reducing its environmental impact by using low-temperature saccharification machinery and collecting wastewater so it can be converted into biogas energy.
So Shanghai-based studio RooMoo placed a similar emphasis on sustainability when designing the bar, where almost 6,000 pieces of wood from the distillery’s discarded oak barrels were reused as decoration.
The offcuts were then used to construct a ringed structure on the bar’s ceiling”The bar imports the materials used in the distillery’s production process, creating a symbiosis between the two spaces,” said the studio.
“Each dismantled barrel piece was different in terms of width, length and grain, so we classified them and applied them to different positions.”
RooMoo assessed and classified all of the offcuts before useBarrel pieces are first seen on the bar’s facade, where they have been placed horizontally to create a lattice-like effect.
The facade is otherwise only punctuated by a wide-set door and an expansive window, where barrels printed with the distillery’s logo are displayed.
The bar’s slatted partition walls are also made from barrel offcutsOnce inside, guests step into a whiskey sampling area with a green marble tasting counter. Suspended directly above the space is a dramatic double-ringed sculpture crafted from barrel offcuts.
More wooden barrel pieces were used to construct a curving, slatted partition in front of the main bar.
A long seating banquette bends around the back of the room, accompanied by a series of black tables and leather chairs. There is also a huge light-up wall where liquor bottles are put on display.
Black leather furnishings were incorporated throughout the main bar areaOn the ceiling here are the beginnings of another ringed sculpture, which will be completed as soon as the distillery has used up more barrels for the studio to use.
“We made the ceiling structure beautiful enough to open the bar first,” explained the studio. “We are not hurrying to finish it, but following the production process and waiting for the wasted materials to be produced.”
Off to the side of the main bar is a more private VIP tasting room. At its centre hangs a bespoke light crafted from the circular metal bands, which once held together the distillery barrels.
The ceiling sculpture will be completed once the studio receives more offcutsLai Zhou Bar has made it to the shortlist in the sustainable interior category of the 2023 Dezeen Awards.
The project is up against Edit restaurant by Elly Ward and Joe Morris, which is clad with salvaged terracotta tiles, and the Big Beauty store by Nina + Co, which is decked out in biomaterials like mycelium.
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