PARK33 project is located on the bund side of shanghai and used to be the original British consulate in old shanghai. Now the new Huangpu group hired Kokaistudios as the interior renovation team to convert this beautiful building into a multi-function f&b entertainment building which has served during the Shanghai EXPO 2010 for all central government officers. Now the building shall hand over to the Peninsula Hotel Group to accommodate into high end property.
INSTITUTIONAL RESTYLING
Kokaistudios is proud to announce the completion of our 2nd project on the Bund in Shanghai: the restoration of the ex-British Consulate complex located at Bund #33.This project, developed by the New Huangpu group as part of the larger Waitanyuan development, was originally conceived to host the official institutional events of Shanghai expo at the end of which it will be managed by Peninsula Hotel Group to become a new lifestyle landmark in Shanghai, and in China.
4 years after the opening of the landmark Bund 18 building, Kokaistudios was selected between a short list of international firms to implement the historical renovation project already developed by a local design institute and to reconfigure the interiors by transforming the 7 building complex from an empty shell abandoned for years into a luxury multi-use space designed for meetings, events and F&B outlets.
The project is already garnering critical and popular praise and has recently been nominated as one of 3 projects up for the “Best Project in China†at the upcoming MIPIM Asia awards.
Project Details
The large park located at the north end of the historical Bund covers and area 17.000 sqm and represents the most outstanding prime location of the city, a urban oasis from which appreciate an amazing view of the bund and the Huangpu river. The park hosts at his center two main buildings where the former British Consulate and the former residence of the consul were located, for a total area of 4.500 sqm. The renovation project started at beginning of 2009 and was completed by early summer of 2010.
Envisioned as a multi-functional venue for both private and government functions, the larger building houses the more formal convention facilities while the smaller villa houses the various F&B facilities.
Project Strategy
In this project Kokaistudios brings ahead its specific vision of restoration and renovation of heritage buildings in Shanghai by conceiving the interior design in a way to dialogue with the original strong identity of the heritage buildings but at the same time to answer to the necessity to set a modern and contemporary style for this kind of venues in China.
These two targets could be very difficult to get in an environment usually very traditional in matter of design for these kinds of institutional venues as well still not very experienced in approaching the historical restoration of heritage buildings in modern and contemporary ways.
For these reasons Kokaistudios conceived a project based on a continuous balance between preservation and innovation, a compromise between the traditional functional settings of local institutions and the demands of an elegant international audience.
Project Description
The project site presented a series of difficult challenges as the client plan called for a complete change of function from the past setting of offices and administrative areas to its new usage with a new grand hall, exhibition center, bar, coffee shop and restaurants developed around a newly designed garden foyer in the center of the building; which previously had housed technical facilities in an open courtyard.
The key of innovation of the entire project is focused around the reconfiguration of this new garden foyer where using extremely contemporary design instruments Kokaistudios revolution the original layout of the building by providing a large and airy foyer, hub strategically positioned in the middle of the building to distribute the traffic between different functions.
For the institutional spaces Kokaistudios created a new restyling providing an elegant combination of materials and contemporary iconic furniture so to underline the new course of public Chinese institutions by opening to the rest of the world.
PARK 33
Location: Shanghai, China
Client: New Huangpu Development
Area: 4,200 sqm
Design: 2009
Construction: 2010
Interior Design: KokaistudiosPhotographer: Charlie Xia
The renovation project started at beginning of 2009 and was completed by early summer of 2010.