Etropolis Highly anticipated projects
is dangerous. I suggest installing elevators as to offer convenience to local people.
•
“I hope the government will introduce policies to support the cooperation in eSports between Shanghai and Macau. The two places can join hands to hold international high-end events, which is good to promote Jing’an onto the global stage. Also, derivative series such as eSportsthemed cartoons, restaurants and parks developed by local eSports companies can be introduced to Macau where entertainment business is booming.”
Feng Yi
•
“Road sprinklers present local personality. We suggest painting some of Jing’an’s cultural landmarks on vehicles as to create mobile name cards of Jing’an. Also, we hope the vehicles can play music while sprinkling water on the roads. The pieces of music should reflect Jing’an’s personality. It would be better to invite professionals from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to especially design one.”
Xu Jianbin and Shi Yuxiong
1. New home
The last group of nearly 900 families in Pengsan, a typical old residential warren without elevators or private toilets, will finally see how their new homes look after years of renovation work.
Part of the city’s renowned workers’ community of Pengpu Xincun is a typical old residential warren where thousands of people, many of them elderly, lived in wretched conditions.
The structures were built about 60 years ago without elevators and with shared toilets and kitchens. Two or three families shared one kitchen and as many as 10 shared a single toilet.
Renovation of Pengsan started in 2008. Instead of simply renovating their decrepit houses, the district government has been building modern apartment blocks for them.
The new buildings are self-contained, equipped with elevators, garages and beautiful gardens. When the fourth-phase renovation was completed, more than 1,000 families received keys to their new homes.
The last group of nearly 1,000 families started to move out in March 2019 after they all agreed with the renovation plan. The same month, the old buildings were pulled down.
Under the plan, seven new apartment buildings will be erected to replace the previous 11 decrepit structures. Construction is set to be completed this year.
2. Old landmark, new look
Renovation of the former Shanghai JC Mandarin Hotel will be completed this year.
As one of the city’s oldest luxury hotels, dating back 30 years, it is being converted into a high-end commercial complex on Nanjing Road W.
JC Mandarin opened to the public following the merger of three hotels — Jinjiang, Cangzhou and Mandarin Oriental.
It used to be one of the most popular and prestigious five-star hotels in Shanghai until it was sold in 2013. To meet the changing landscape of Nanjing Road, Baohua decided to transform it from a hotel
into a full-blown commercial juggernaut.
Under the plan, the site will consist of a 17-story office building and a five-floor podium, which will open in September 2021 as a high-end retail mall featuring luxury outlets and fine dining.
“It’s not a new building but an old building being granted a new lease of life,” Yang Jian, vice president of the Shanghai Baohua Group said.
He added that the new site will be called JC Mandarin Plaza to commemorate its past.
“We’ve heard many locals say the hotel is full of memories and was a symbol of reform and China’s opening-up to the world,” Yang said. “We added some nostalgic elements to the design to keep such memories alive.”
3. New innovation community
Construction of the Shibei International Science Innovation Community will be accelerated to ensure its completion by 2024.
The community is built on the former site of Shanghai Metallurgical Mining Machine Factory. Many historical structures are still left and some of the red-brick facades, old machines and interior structures and designs will be preserved and repaired.
With a total investment of 24 billion yuan, it will be transformed to a lively community comprising residences, museums, galleries, theaters and commercial complexes. It will also hold outdoor movie screenings, music festivals and fashion shows, among a variety of activities that are attractive to young people.
Called an innovation community, it also aims to hold and foster advanced technologies, especially 5G, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, industrial Internet and 8K imaging.
It hopes to be the home of 21 headquarters of multinational companies and more than 60 industrial leaders.
4. New gallery
The third site of UCCA Center for Contemporary Art will open around May 2021 in the EDGE Plaza along Suzhou Creek to become a new cultural landmark.
UCCA was founded in 2007 by Guy and Myriam Ullens as the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. Its first site, UCCA Beijing, is housed in factory chambers built in the 1950s. The second site, UCCA Dune, located along the coast of the Bohai.
Unlike those two, the latest building in Shanghai will display a totally different personality as it directly embraces the urban space.
The three-floor gallery will take over 5,500 square meters, including 1,700 square meters of exhibition space, outdoor terrace and other public spaces.
It will open with an exhibition curated by UCCA’s director Philip Tinari, based on Shanghai’s DNA and international development. It will look back on how Chinese contemporary art is stepping onto the global art stage.
The new gallery will also join hands with the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh in the US to present an exhibition of world-renowned artist Andy Warhol.
Furthermore, the Michelin star restaurant Da Vittorio will open a new restaurant as part of the gallery.