Shanghai DreamCenter

The Oval Partnership is pleased to announce that the construction of our award winning urban regeneration project Shanghai DreamCenter, is well underway and slated to open by the end of 2018. The Oval Partnership is part of an international consortium tasked with transforming what used to be Asia’ largest cement plant into a world class entertainment, art and cultural hub on the west bund along the Huangpu River.

The 460 000 square metre creative and lifestyle destination will feature performance venues, creative media studios, theatres, cinemas, galleries, retail areas as well as restaurants and bars. One of the most ambitious developments of its kind in China, Shanghai DreamCenter envisions to become the flagship attraction of the West Bund Media Port in the Xuhui district.

The Oval Partnership is responsible for the masterplan of the one kilometre long waterfront area, as well as the overall retail concept design linking the Metro Line 11 station and the riverside. In response to the vastness of the site, we adopted a scenario planning approach that puts people at the centre of the masterplan design.

The new urban form is an organic continuation of the city fabrics. Walkability is the primary objective: permeability, high quality public realm and pleasurable pedestrian experiences. Civic plazas, urban parks, streets, lanes and alleys are carefully orchestrated to create a rich network of public spaces, with human scale and urban experience at the heart of the design.

The users are the placemakers. The unique waterfront site features five industrial structures which are part of a disused cement factory that dates back more than a century. These robust remnants of the city’s glorious industrial past are conserved and adapted into multi-purpose performance venues providing a total of 8,500 seats, including a 3,000 seat arena housed in an enormous dome where cement was once mixed.

Historic and modern architecture finds harmony along the riverside, as local industrial and cultural contexts are respected and integrated into a vibrant culturetainment experience unseen in the region. Shanghai DreamCenter is an unusual endeavour in China, if not in the world.

The project is situated along a prominent riverside in Longhua, a district that once embodied the rise of Chinese industry. In designing this new art and cultural destination, The Oval Partnership constantly reminded ourselves to respect such remarkable historic context, and repurpose it in contemporary forms so that the precinct will continue to thrive in the new era. Source by The Oval Partnership.

• Location: Xuhui West Bund, Shanghai, China
• Project Team: Kohn Pederson Fox Associates, 3XN, P&T Group, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, ASPECT Studios and SIADR
• Client: Shanghai DreamCenter Creative Culture Development Limited
• Prize: Gold for Best Urban Regeneration Project at the MIPIM Asia Awards
• Size: 460 000 square metres
• Completion: end of 2018
• Images: Courtesy of The Oval Partnership