Architectural preservation in Shanghai

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Shanghai is looking to the future by embracing its architectural heritage

By Ric Stockfis Translation by Amanda Mao

“Shanghai has always liked showing off,” says Peter Hibbard, president of the Royal Asiatic Society in China.

“It is a great city of face.” Indeed, you only have to look to the modern skyline of Pudong for ever-changing proof of this. The Bund boasts dozens of architectural styles preserved for posterity, while shiny Xintiandi makes a convincing – if somewhat sanitised – case for the beauty of traditional shikumen (stone gate) lanes.

But in a city of face, looking nice isn’t enough unless you can make money. Although more than 600 historic buildings have been granted official preservation status, several dozen have simply been torn down. Yet in the last year alone, the launch of three separate projects – an artdeco slaughterhouse reinvented as a creative hub, a pair of neo-classical mansions rebranded as the last word in luxury, and a run-down section of the city’s docks now filling

The exterior of Shanghai’s newly renovated 1933 1933老場坊的外貌煥然一新

翻新老上海 上海以活化再生古蹟建築的價值，迎向 日新月異的未來 「上海向來是個樂於炫耀自我的城市，令人驚為天 人。」Peter Hibbard是皇家亞洲文會在中國的分會主 席，這是他對上海的讚美。的確，新舊並陳的上海一 直讓世界驚艷，上海外灘上有為後代子孫保留的眾多 古蹟建築，炫眼的「新天地」則是傳統上海民居石庫 門的再造新生，兩者都是老建物新生命的成功示範。 但對於城市建築物來說，單有好看的樣貌還不 夠，除非能帶來財富。上海經官方認證列為古蹟保護 的建築物超過600間，但被拆掉的數量也相當可觀。 以下是去年啟動的三項城市改造計劃：具裝置藝術風 格的屠宰場被改造成創意產業園區、一棟雙拼的新古 典主義老宅邸被設計成奢華精緻的名牌之家，及一度 頹敗的碼頭區現已被新潮的咖啡館與精品店佔據。看 來，真有不少人想從古蹟裡變出白花花的鈔票。 曾經是世界三大牲口屠宰場之一的「1933老 場坊」，現在已變身為創意產業園區，那驚悚的

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Globus Wine(below), one of the tenants of 1933 (opposite page) 1933老場坊（右頁）的租戶之 一 Globus Wine （下）

up with cafes and boutiques – suggests that not everyone has given up on combining profits with preservation.

To point out that the buildings that make up ‘1933’ were once three of the world’s grandest abattoirs does them a disservice, for they remain awe-inspiring today. Located in the Hongkou district, to the north of the Bund, the beauty of their British design belies the fact that they were triumphs of function as much as form. The renovation is no accident either. Empty since 2002, the local government used its architectural heritage as a key ingredient in revitalising the area. Yet when 1933 CEO Paul Liu first visited the site, what he saw “resembled a scene from The Terminator – piles of rubble, dripping water and exposed pipes everywhere”. However, repair work was slight, and the buildings’ scars and marks have largely been left intact.

“We want to challenge people who come here to think about aesthetics, architecture, design, and especially respect for the past,” says Liu. Formerly executive director of Three on the Bund, another high-profile historic renovation, he rather regrets that it “developed over time into a luxury destination with no relevance to 99% of Shanghai’s population”. At 1933, he and his business partners instead envisage a new creative hub, open to anyone with a curious mind.

To that end, 1933 requires that at least 40% of its tenants come from creative industries. Retail spaces in the 32,000-square metre complex tend to be one-of-a-kind and Liu hopes people will leave “not just with a shopping bag, but with an idea in their head”.

More exclusive, but no less extraordinary, are the neoclassical

Twin Villas across town at 796 Huaihai Lu. Built in the 1920s and once home to the Shanghai Cinema Bureau, the elegant mansions have been painstakingly restored and opened to the public late last year.

Here, luxury takes centre-stage, with flagship stores for Alfred Dunhill and Vacheron Constantin, and an outlet for Hong Kong’s private members club KEE. The Dunhill Home store is a wonder in itself, a Boy’s Own safari adventure made real: vintage leather travel trunks piled twostoreys high; a bespoke tailor; and even a desk fashioned from a 1944 aircraft wing. Dunhill has said it wants to create something unique with the Home, and the same could readily be said of the entire development. Given the grandeur of the buildings and their location, tucked back from one of the

「屠宰場」的名號多少還是會讓人 發毛。這座始建於1933年的巨大英 式建築佔地32,000平方米，位於虹 口區外灘北端，自2002年棄置後， 它無可避免地已成為政府當局活化 建築遺產、重振地方文化的重要元 素。「1993老場坊」總裁劉恩沛 第一次看到這座「屠宰場」時感覺 「像看到電影《Terminator》的 場景，到處是破磚粗石、鏽蝕的水 管、滴漏不歇的水。」不過，修復 工作算是簡單，「屠宰場」昔日的 創傷印記，大多被完整保留下來。 劉恩沛說：「我們想挑戰人們 對美感的看法，讓大家不由自主地 思考美學、建築、設計，特別是尊 重歷史這部分。」他另一棟知名再 生古蹟「外灘三號」的前執行總 裁，也對「外灘三號」在成為奢華 代名詞後，卻與99％的上海人無關 的事實感到相當惋惜。因此他與合 作夥伴們期望「1933老場坊」的承 租商家最終能超過40％是來自創意 產業，更希望踏出這裡的客人

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city’s premier retail streets, it’s no surprise prices are high.

Yet, for all the differences between here and 1933, there’s a shared sense both of respect for the past and for the value of innovation; the tenants – including contemporary gallery ShanghART – have each utilised the space magnificently. “What they’ve done is astounding,” says Hibbard. “Putting up the money for the restoration and having the integrity to do it properly – it’s genius.”

In the case of the Cool Docks – on the site of the South Bund’s old shipping refrigeration warehouses – it’s a whole area that has been transformed. Hailed, like so many before it, as the next Xintiandi; a trickle of retail boutiques and cafés has already moved into new low-rises, alongside stillstanding shikumen houses.

Fruit boxes are piled up against walls and, for now at least, the waterfront area remains very much lived in.

Of course, the ‘new Xintiandi’ tag doesn’t guarantee success. The Pier One complex, opened in 2006 on the site of an old brewery beside Suzhou Creek, has already closed its doors. But Michelin-starred chef Stefan Stiller, who worked on that development, thinks the area around the Cool Docks – home to his new, eponymous restaurant and cooking school – is much more interesting. “People like coming somewhere new, but they also want to see something of the old neighbourhoods.” To better raise appreciation for Shanghai’s rich architectural heritage, Hibbard says, “Developers need to let the history live; they must let it speak for itself.” In very different ways, these three new developments may yet prove him right.

「不只提著購物袋，腦袋裡還要裝著新創意。」 位於淮海路796號的新古典風格雙拼樓房Twin Villas，是另一項獨特的古蹟翻新案。這棟樓房建於 1920年代，曾是上海電影局的所在地，造型華麗而優 雅的樓房在經過一番費心翻修後，在去年年底重新面 世，成為展演奢華名品的舞台，登喜路、江詩丹頓的 旗艦店即落腳於此樓，香港名流喜愛的頂級私人會所 Kee Club也在這裡。 登喜路旗艦店本身就是個驚嘆號，以叢林探險為 陳設主題，將古色古香的皮革旅行箱盤放兩層樓高， 還有一張以1944年所製造的飛機機翼打造而成的書 桌。這裡還有專業裁縫師傅，為客人手工訂製西服。 創始人登喜路先生曾說要將上海旗艦店變得獨一無 二，包括整體室內設計也要求僅此一家。Twin Villas 本身的豪華氣度、位處於上海重要商區的地理優勢， 也讓此處的商品定價「高 」人一等。 撇開和「1933老場坊」的相異處，兩者的相通 點在於尊重歷史與重生的價 值，包括當代藝廊「香格納 畫廊」等租客，都給了這棟 老建築物令人讚歎的新生 命。Hibbard說：「他們不 僅讓重生的古蹟身價翻了兩 翻，還適度地保有建築的完 整性，真令人驚歎。」 另一宗改造案「老碼 頭」位於南外灘，原是個漁 獲冷凍倉庫，與其他改造案 一樣，整個碼頭區被徹頭徹 尾改造，另一個新天地於焉 誕生。碼頭區內的街道充斥 著精品店及咖啡館，還夾雜著上海典型老民居石庫 門。當然，所謂的「『新』新天地」並非是張保證成 功的標籤。於2006年正式開業的「一號碼頭」是一 個綜合的休閒區，是由蘇州河畔老釀酒廠改建，但 現已關門歇業了。曾經在裡面一家餐廳工作的米芝蓮 星級廚師Stefan Stiller認為「老碼頭」這一帶要有趣 多了，而他的知名新餐廳及烹飪學校就開在這一區。 他說：「人都是喜新厭舊，骨子裡雖喜歡到新潮的 地方玩樂，心裡頭也還是眷戀著老街坊的味道。」如 何提高上海豐富又多元的建築遺產價值，Hibbard認 為：「開發商想讓歷史活下來，那就得讓歷史自己說 話。」雖然三個新開發案各以不同的言語表述，但他 們也許正在證實Hibbard所說的話是對的。

“developers need to let the history live; They must let it speak for itself”

「開發商想讓歷史活下來， 那就得讓歷史自己說話」

(Clockwise from top right) The balcony of the Twin Villas; Dunhill Home store; Vacheron; Dunhill salon; ShangART （右上起順時針）Twin Villas的露 台；登喜路旗艦店；Vacheron； 登喜路廳及香格納畫廊