Life Hub @ Bund Central, a mixed-use complex comprising a retail mall and a 180m-tall office tower, is a key component in the urban regeneration of the larger Hongkou Lot 18 in Shanghai.
The project brief detailed the need for the redevelopment of the 4.6ha site, integrating its existing heritage with new buildings. The complete regeneration development accommodates approximately 293,000sqm of floor area, distributed among retail, commercial and cultural functions. DP Architects served as design lead for the overall master plan of Hongkou Lot 18, as well as for the architectural design for all new buildings including Life Hub @ Bund Central, office interiors, landscape design and exterior lighting design.
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Life Hub @ Bund Central
Mixed-Use Architecture (Built)
Firm
DP Architects Pte Ltd
Architect/Designer
Pey Ran Niew
Design Team
Niew Pey Ran, Goh Yong Qin, Wang Jian, Tao Jia, Lu Jiaping, Wang Xiao-en, Cassandra Ho, Fan Hua, Liu Chen, Peng Zijun, Wang Liyi, Wu Xiao-Jun, Yin Zhen-qin, Zhu Yuelin, Dong Su-hong, Leng Yu-han, Wang Zhen, Yu-fang Ruo-di, Zheng Yi, Zhong Xiaohui, Zuo Jiali
Location
939 North Sichuan Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai, China
Country
Singapore
Photographer/Copyright
©DP Architects, Yang Tao
Urban Interfaces
The design challenge arises from the need to concentrate a large quantum of new building areas in the southern half of the site, with the other half forming a Heritage Zone occupied by low-rise historical buildings conserved in situ. Life Hub @ Bund Central accommodates approximately 267,000sqm of new building area, forming a mega complex amidst the Heritage Zone. The resulting building reflects a sensitivity to history and scale through carefully crafted urban interfaces.
Expressed as an iconic urban development along a major southern traffic thoroughfare, the building is composed of large, interlocking volumes, responding to the view towards The Bund. Textured grey-toned striations reflect historical masonry constructions and further break down the scale of the development.
Along the northern interface, fronting the Heritage Zone, the elevation is transformed into a continuous Garden Walk, a leisurely stroll along shopfronts and living green walls culminating at the sky theatre on the sixth floor. The Garden Walk terraces back, respecting the scale of the conserved buildings and creating expansive views into the Heritage Zone to stage a theatrical dialogue between the new and old.
A Dialogue Across Time
To complete the site’s urban regeneration, a tightly knit network of public circulation space allows Life Hub @ Bund Central and the Heritage Zone to amalgamate spatially. At ground level, the spatially porous southern interface creates visual and spatial connections between new and old buildings.
At the north, visitors wander through century-old ‘li-longs’ (alleyways) to naturally congregate at the central plaza, a place where a multitude of urban activities can take place. Entering Life Hub @ Bund Central, the flow of the internal circulation always leads visitors to the Garden Walk or outdoor sky courts that are incorporated into the mall, introducing natural light and variety in the retail setting.
The interplay between indoor and outdoor spaces in Life Hub @ Bund Central subverts the conventional retail concepts, weaving public and social spaces from the Heritage Zone to the newly built areas. This scheme realises the original design intent for urban integration, offering city dwellers a lifestyle destination with rich possibilities.