neri & hu: design republic commune on jiangninglu road, shanghai

‘design republic commune’ by neri & hu, shanghai, chinaimage © pedro pegenauteall images courtesy of neri & hu design and research office / pedro pegenaute

a reimagined home for a furniture retailer design commune seeks to become a hub for critical dialogue and exchange for designers in the center of shanghai. the space uses its very architecture as an impetus for for this discourse and effectively answers the slew of questions that accompanies renovation. in a staunchly preserved historical building, local designers neri & hu have carefully grafted a white-walled and glazed network of spaces into a british-built 1910’s police headquarters edifice. the new flagship store becomes a mutualistic prosthetic for the vibrant brick building, enabling the existing structure to rid itself of its decaying wood and plaster bones and begin a second life. the architects prioritized the skin of rich masonry as the main building system, instead choosing to insert a glazed volume where dilapidated row shops once stood and making sure to offset pristine walls from untouched planes of brick and wood lathes. a colonial building plan is made more dynamic by the removal of certain floor plates, while crumbling walls are framed and elegantly  emphasized by rhythmic apertures. the design republic commune is a place where architecture is the confluence of multiple histories and where buildings behave like bodies as well as a space where designers can see both the ephemera of ‘newness’ and the lasting complexities their creations might acquire with time.

interiors show the layered spaceimage © pedro pegenaute

pristine walls and glazing are alternately offset and integrated into existing brick and woodimage © pedro pegenaute

prosthetic meets the ‘host’ buildingimage © pedro pegenaute

a view of strategic aperturesimage © pedro pegenaute

the rich masonry part of the historically protected buildingimage © pedro pegenaute

the space is envisioned as a place of dialogue and exchange between designersimage © pedro pegenaute

existing timber beams are left exposedimage © pedro pegenaute

a dichotomy of architectonics enlivens the placeimage © pedro pegenaute

strategic incisions allow daylight to enter roomsimage © pedro pegenaute

to frame relics of the structure is to emphasize themimage © pedro pegenaute

plan level 0image © neri & hu design and research office

plan level 1image © neri & hu design and research office

plan level 2image © neri & hu design and research office

sectionimage © neri & hu design and research office

elevation of the glazed storefront insertionimage © neri & hu design and research office

project info:

site address: no.511 jiangninglu road, , shanghai, chinaproject type: historic building renovationarchitect & interior designer: neri&hu design and research officecompletion date: november 2012design period: september 2010 – november 2012gross square footage: 2,400sqmprogram: retail,restaurant, one room hotelspecial features: historical building