Neri&Hu Design and Research Office
Founded in 2004 Shanghai
Founder Lyndon Neri, Rossana Hu
Project construction 2008.5-2010.5
Location No.1-3 Maojiayuan Road, Huangpu, Shanghai
Area 2800 sqm
Courtesy Neri&Hu
www.neriandhu.com
如恩设计研究所
2004年成立于上海
创始人郭锡恩, 胡如珊
水舍南外滩精品酒店
项目时间2008年5月至2010年5月
位于上海黄浦区毛家园路1-3号
面积2800平方米
图片来自如恩设计
The Waterhouse at South Bund
Shanghai is a city mixed of old and new. The mother river Huangpu divides the city into two distinct areas: Puxi and Pudong. Puxi is the old city west of the Huangpu River, while Pudong is the new city east to the river.
The Bund is located in the old area Puxi along the river. Literally, the Bund or Waitan means outer bank.
In 1842, the Qing government lost the first Opium War against the British and signed the Treaty of Nanjing. In the treaty, five ports were forced to open to foreign merchands: Canton, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai. Since then, western powers gained the trading right in China, also they were granted settlements and concessions.
This is how colonial-style architecture erected on the Bund. Among them, there are banks, luxury hotels, grand restaurants, social clubs, etc.
During WWII, the Japanese invaded Shanghai. The Waterhouse was used as the Japanese army’s headquarters during the 1930s.
Neri&Hu transformed this colonial building into a contemporary 19-room boutique hotel.
Like the city of Shanghai, the Waterhouse has a beautiful contrast between old and new. The original building has been restored. The historical traces of time can be seen on the exposed and stripped walls, which gives a wabi-sabi feel, tells stories of the building’s past. The building had three stories, the extension of the fourth story is newly added on the roof, using the material of Corten steel. On the rooftop, there is now an open terrace bar, where people can look over the neighbouring Huangpu River and the gleaming Pudong skyline.
The circulation inside the hotel, corridors, staircases…has also been added to the existing structure.
There is a courtyard in the centre of the hotel, which serves as the restaurant terrace on the ground floor. The rooms around have windows which allow guests in the room to look at the courtyard; vice versa, the guests in the courtyard can also voyeuristically peek into the rooms. The notion of public and private blurs.
This conception comes from Nongtang. A typical vernacular alleyway in the Jiangnan region. The Longtangs are narrow and cramped. Residents live closely one to another. The intimacy is limited. They even share small kitchens, bathrooms, corridors, staircases…
In the interview with Dezeen’s editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs, Lyndon Neri talked about historically preserve a building. In a city like Shanghai, where buildings like alley houses have been demolished almost on a weekly pace, the thread of history would be disrupted, if not completely disconnected. Architects have the responsibility to bring back the essence of the lane houses which is very much the essence of Shanghai, the every day, the ordinary, the mundane of Shanghai.
