百年水泥厂，重铸西岸「梦中心」

图片 Image: ? Ucharm

Located to the south of Shanghai’s city centre, the project continues an expanding string of cultural projects emerging near the river on Shanghai’s West Bund. The site is currently home to two very different sets of buildings: a handful of large industrial structures represent the leftovers of the area’s history as a cement factory, while the in-between space is filled with constructions from previous renovations.

图片 Image: ? Ucharm

MVRDV’s masterplan for the site retains all of these existing structures, and takes a light-touch approach to renovating the more recent structures, saving as much of the existing materials as possible and minimising the embodied carbon involved in transforming the site. The older industrial buildings will receive a more bold treatment, highlighting the industrial heritage and distinguishing between old and new. Many of the industrial buildings will become cultural spaces, while hotels, restaurants, cafés, and retail will typically fill the newer structures. Taking inspiration from the site’s history, movement was a key principle of the design – in the past, the area was organised around the movement of raw materials for cement production; in the future, it will enable the free movement of people with just as much efficiency.

图片 Image: ? MVRDV

规划解析图

site diagram

The site is organised around key axes that form the primary public areas, with landscape designs provided by James Corner Field Operations. The most important of these axes is a central spine forming the main route from one end of the site to the other. The masterplan’s defining element, however, comes in how it uses different levels, with activated rooftops, a series of elevated terraces by the riverbank, and a network of staircases and elevators creating a three-dimensional promenade that permeates the site with its eye-catching orange colour.

图片 Image: ? Ucharm

“This project is an excellent demonstration of how the time between a building’s realisation and its renovation seems to get shorter and shorter”, says MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. “It used to be that we only transformed culturally significant buildings from earlier time periods; here we transform not only 20th century industrial heritage, but even unfinished buildings from recent years. It goes to show how much value every city has in its existing structures that is ripe for designers to unlock.”

图片 Image: ? Ucharm

图片 Image: ? Ucharm

Before its transformation, this building was an imposing yet skeletal structure, comprising little more than two walls of concrete frames and an expansive steel-truss roof. Using minimalistic glass infill to highlight the rough, raw original structure, MVRDV’s design transforms the building into a combined leisure and culture destination hosts retail, cafés, and restaurants on the lower floors, and a large exhibition and event space on the top floor to take advantage of the voluminous, column-free space. On a mezzanine level above this, facing the river, a restaurant with an external terrace takes advantage of the views of the city.

图片 Image: ? MVRDV

梦工场改造方案解析图

concept diagram

图片 Image: ? Gate M 西岸梦中心

梦工场改造施工现场

construction site