Seen from the terrace of the Power Station of Art, a power plant converted to a museum for contemporary art, the grounds on which the world exposition was held in 2010 could give rise to disillusionment. The hosts claimed that the Expo Shanghai, as it was called at the time, would leave behind neither ruins nor wasteland. On the contrary, it would become the nucleus of new neighbourhoods. But the vast unfenced swathes of land tell another story: the post-expo uses barely function, or have yet to be introduced. But at least both banks of the river Huangpu have been made accessible to pedestrians, and the postindustrial transformation continues upstream.
West Bund Cultural Corridor (WBCC) is the name of the city administration’s ambitious project aiming to revitalise seven square kilometres of former port and industrial sites that adjoin the Expo grounds to the south. This is an instance of putting one’s chips, so to speak, on culture as attractor, whereby the Chinese understanding of culture is defined correspondingly widely.
Museums are an important topic in China, which has some catching-up to do following decades of more or less explicit lack of interest in cultural heritage triggered by the Cultural Revolution. In 2012, the business partners Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei opened a first museum Pudong, a district on the other side on the Huangpu. That a new branch has now been established is a result of the city administration’s initiative: it wanted a further “building block” to animate the WBCC. The design stems from Atelier Deshaus, which – founded in 2001 – counts among the most exciting contemporary architecture firms in China and has gained renown for its buildings on the periphery of Shanghai. The great care with which the two founders, Liu Yichun and Chen Yifeng, and their team design and realize projects is apparent in the high standard of workmanship – and this is also in evidence at the Long Museum.
The museum building has two levels above ground and two below and is organised orthogonally. The two subterranean levels of the base are larger than the visible parts of the museum: their geometry follows that of the triangular parcel, which is bordered by Longteng Avenue, Ruining Road and the riverbank. The lowermost level serves as parking garage, while the level above it, with its stuccoed halls equipped with artificial lighting, are primarily used for the presentation of the collection’s historical items. The museum’s visible building massing grows out of this plinth, which is based on the logic of the parking garage: it consists of space-defining T-shaped reinforced-concrete structures. These possess cavities that house installations. The curves at their upper ends allow them to serve both as wall and as ceiling. Two of the elements abut: in this way vaulted spaces, which usually have a slit of light at the centre, come about. (Hubertus Adams)
West Bund Cultural Corridor (WBCC) is the name of the city administration’s ambitious project aiming to revitalise seven square kilometres of former port and industrial sites that adjoin the Expo grounds to the south. This is an instance of putting one’s chips, so to speak, on culture as attractor, whereby the Chinese understanding of culture is defined correspondingly widely.
Museums are an important topic in China, which has some catching-up to do following decades of more or less explicit lack of interest in cultural heritage triggered by the Cultural Revolution. In 2012, the business partners Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei opened a first museum Pudong, a district on the other side on the Huangpu. That a new branch has now been established is a result of the city administration’s initiative: it wanted a further “building block” to animate the WBCC. The design stems from Atelier Deshaus, which – founded in 2001 – counts among the most exciting contemporary architecture firms in China and has gained renown for its buildings on the periphery of Shanghai. The great care with which the two founders, Liu Yichun and Chen Yifeng, and their team design and realize projects is apparent in the high standard of workmanship – and this is also in evidence at the Long Museum.
The museum building has two levels above ground and two below and is organised orthogonally. The two subterranean levels of the base are larger than the visible parts of the museum: their geometry follows that of the triangular parcel, which is bordered by Longteng Avenue, Ruining Road and the riverbank. The lowermost level serves as parking garage, while the level above it, with its stuccoed halls equipped with artificial lighting, are primarily used for the presentation of the collection’s historical items. The museum’s visible building massing grows out of this plinth, which is based on the logic of the parking garage: it consists of space-defining T-shaped reinforced-concrete structures. These possess cavities that house installations. The curves at their upper ends allow them to serve both as wall and as ceiling. Two of the elements abut: in this way vaulted spaces, which usually have a slit of light at the centre, come about. (Hubertus Adams)