Rockbund cultural hub to balance traditional and modern architecture
A Shanghai art museum that is part of a group of buildings being restored, reflects the area's new cultural identity
With no shortage of new dramatic architectural landmarks in China, it is notable that one of the most intriguing design projects to emerge in recent years is not a monumental skyscraper, but the restoration and subtle extension of a historic contemporary-art museum on the northern tip of the city's famed Bund.
The narrow, six-storey art deco building - originally home to the Royal Asiatic Society and the first public museum in China - is part of the restoration of an ensemble of architecturally diverse historic buildings referred to as the Rockbund Project.
During the early 19th century, the project's location overlooking the intersection of the Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek was considered so strategic that the British government selected it for the first British settlement in Shanghai. The restoration area comprises six early-20th-century listed buildings and five further significant historical buildings. Each presents in a different style, with materials and colours representing the city's distinctive 1920s.
The restoration of the 1.6-hectare mixed-use area, led by Shanghai Bund de Rockefeller Group Master Development, aims to transform the long-neglected site into a new luxury cultural hub including hotels, retail spaces, offices and apartments.
At the helm of the Rockbund Project is British architect Sir David Chipperfield, 59, whose offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai employ more than 200 people. He brings considerable experience in balancing traditional and modern design, with the reconstruction of the 19th-century Neues Museum on Berlin's Museum Island - in collaboration with Julian Harrap - seen as a model for how to modernise historic buildings without losing their authenticity. In addition to leading a team of international architects to revitalise the buildings, David Chipperfield Architects was also tasked with the restoration of the facades and interior conservation areas, interior design of all public spaces, new-build additions, and the interior design for the project's first signature building, the Rockbund Art Museum (RAM).
The restoration concept began with painstaking cleaning to remove years of grime without further harm to their original fabric. At the same time, the historic patina and aged surfaces were kept as far as possible, to avoid an artificial upgraded look.