Tall & Urban News

Waterfront Shanghai Project Completes

13 October 2021 | Shanghai, China
Minsheng Wharf Block E15-3 in Shanghai is bookended in-between century old industrial silo warehouse, historical houses with landmark status, and a neoclassical luxurious residential neighborhood. Image credit: schranimage.
Minsheng Wharf Block E15-3 in Shanghai is bookended in-between century old industrial silo warehouse, historical houses with landmark status, and a neoclassical luxurious residential neighborhood. Image credit: schranimage.

Located at the primary waterfront site in Pudong of Shanghai, Minsheng Wharf Block E15-3 has recently been completed. The waterfront urban regeneration development was designed by EID Architecture.  

Primarily consisting of grade A office space and amenities, the project site is bookended in-between century old industrial silo warehouse, historical houses with landmark status and neoclassical luxurious residential neighborhood designed by American architect Robert Stern. The juxtaposition of these chaotic and complex urban conditions reflects the urban reality of the evolving city of Shanghai.

By carefully addressing the complexity of these site conditions, the design of Minsheng Wharf Block E15-3 reestablishes a spatial order for the wharf. With a gross floor area of 38,240 square meters, Minsheng Wharf Block E15-3 worked with strict site constraints. The organization of the new addition stems from the spatial relationship with surrounding buildings and urban environment—the solidity of the building is as critical as the voids. By correlating the massing and voids with the existing urban fabrics, a spatial fugue is created with new meaning and purpose, reactivating the industrial waterfront district. 

The design ambition does not lie in creating an eye-catching spectacle of a building. On the contrary, it is intended to address the urban conditions in a restrained manner, providing a monolithic, minimal building responding and correlating to its surroundings. Porosity and permeability are introduced to the massing allowing for connectivity and interaction between the street and enclosed courtyard.

While fulfilling the functional requirements of the buildings themselves, this project also activated a previously deserted urban environment. These interventions have connected new commercial spaces, cultural/communal venues, and residential neighborhood along the riverside. 

For more on this story, go to ArchDaily.