Shanghai-based architectural practice Neri&Hu has renovated one of the old Shikumen-style residences in the Zhang Yuan area of Shanghai into a cafe. Zhang Yuan is the most important garden in Shanghai during the 19th century, becoming one of the first public and commercial spaces in modern China, giving rise to a new style of urban life.

The café project seeks to generate a dialogue between Shanghai's history and contemporary urban social value. The architectural studio tries to capture the spirit of the local urban fabric and create a narrative journey, starting from the traditional scene of the daily hustle and bustle in contrast to moments of leisure.
Due to historic preservation regulations, the project by Neri&Hu retains the brick walls, façade joinery and atriums. These elements serve as the basis for the insertion of new design elements. On the outside, an elongated space connects the street with the atriums, in which furniture is placed against the windows, reminiscent of the social life led in the previous Shikumen.

Inside, a primitive shelter is placed as the circulatory focal point of the space, where coffee is prepared and served. In contrast to the existing heavy architecture, the interior stainless steel structure was made as light as possible, inspired by the extension structures used in the past to extend the private space to the street.


Blue Bottle Zhang Yuan Cafe by Neri&Hu. Photograph by Zhu Runzi.


Blue Bottle Zhang Yuan Cafe by Neri&Hu. Photograph by Zhu Runzi.
 

Description of project by Neri&Hu

At the end of the 19th century, Zhang Yuan, the most famous garden of Shanghai, developed into one of the earliest public and commercial spaces in modern China, exemplifying and leading the emergence of a new Chinese urban lifestyle. In 2022, as Zhang Yuan reopens to the public after a complete rehabilitation of its historic buildings, Neri&Hu was commissioned by Blue Bottle to create a retail space in one of the old Shikumen typology residences. Coffee initiates a dialogue between Shanghai’s rich history and the contemporary urban social realm.

Amidst the architectural relics of Zhang Yuan, where the city’s collective memory resides, one could envision this scene described by Chinese writer Mu Xin – like tiny crabs scuttling in and out of their sandy shelters, people scatter about in the shadowy lanes of Shanghai at sunset. Within this vast network of alleys, people would go about in their daily hustle and bustle, but the Shanghainese could always appreciate a moment of leisure. Neri&Hu hopes to capture the spirit of the local urban fabric and weave a narrative journey for both locals and visitors to appreciate.

Due to historic preservation guidelines, the existing brick walls, doors, and windows of the original architectural façades and atriums are left untouched, and become a continuous backdrop for the insertion of new design elements. A primitive shelter, symbolizing a return to the origin of architecture, is erected in the center of the space; it is where the coffee is prepared and served, and forms the visual and circulatory focal point of the project. Along the exterior wall of the old building, an elongated space connects the main street to the atriums. This alley-like space within the building accommodates several benches and small tables against the windows and walls, a nod to the leisurely social moments of life in the Shikumen.


Blue Bottle Zhang Yuan Cafe by Neri&Hu. Photograph by Zhu Runzi.

To contrast with the heavy palette of the existing architecture, Neri&Hu meticulously studied the structure and its tectonic joinery, to make it as light as possible. The roof structure is built with brushed stainless steel while the roof surface is made of perforated and bent steel, materials that reflect the surroundings in a subtle and fuzzy manner. Neri&Hu was also inspired by the informal construction and simple attachments that people once used to extend their private spaces into the alley, the existing structural columns are thus commandeered with added metal rods and small platforms to function as light rails, side tables, benches, and object displays. Other than brand furniture, the project features a selection of repurposed traditional old furniture, on which the traces of time bestow a sense of warmth and familiarity, merging old and new, Blue Bottle and Shanghai.

More information

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Architects
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Neri&Hu. Partners in charge.- Lyndon Neri, Rossana Hu; Associate in charge.- Qiucheng Li.
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Design team
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Jiaxin Zhang, Xi Chen, Peizheng Zou, Shangyun Zhou, Greg Wu, Luna Hong.
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Collaborators
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Interior design.- Neri&Hu Design and Research Office.
FF&E design and procurement.- Design Republic.
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Client
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Contractors
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Area
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175 sqm.
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Dates
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Completion.- November 2022.
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Location
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Shanghai, China.
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Photography
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Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, founded in 2004 by partners Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office is an inter-disciplinary architectural design practice based in Shanghai, China. Neri&Hu works internationally providing architecture, interior, master planning, graphic, and product design services. Currently working on projects in many countries, Neri&Hu is composed of multi-cultural staff who speak over 30 different languages.  The diversity of the team reinforces a core vision for the practice: to respond to a global worldview incorporating overlapping design disciplines for a new paradigm in architecture.

Lyndon Neri is a Founding Partner of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, an inter-disciplinary international architectural design practice based in Shanghai, China. In 2014, Wallpaper* announced Neri&Hu as 2014 Designer of The Year. In 2013, Mr. Neri was inducted into the U.S. Interior Design Hall of Fame with his partner Ms. Rossana Hu. The practice was the 2011 INSIDE Festival Overall Winner, won AR Awards for Emerging Architecture 2010 by Architectural Review and was selected as one of the Design Vanguards in 2009 by Architectural Record. Mr. Neri received a Master of Architecture at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to starting his own practice with partner Rossana Hu, he was the Director for Projects in Asia and an Associate for Michael Graves & Associates in Princeton for over 10 years, and also worked in New York City for various architectural firms.

Rossana Hu is a Founding Partner of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, an inter-disciplinary international architectural design practice based in Shanghai, China. In 2014, Wallpaper* announced Neri&Hu as 2014 Designer of The Year. In 2013, Mr. Neri was inducted into the U.S. Interior Design Hall of Fame with his partner Ms. Rossana Hu. The practice was the 2011 INSIDE Festival Overall Winner, won AR Awards for Emerging Architecture 2010 by Architectural Review and was selected as one of the Design Vanguards in 2009 by Architectural Record. Ms. Hu received a Master of Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Music from the University of California at Berkeley. Before establishing Neri&Hu with her partner Lyndon Neri, Ms. Hu worked for Michael Graves & Associates, Ralph Lerner Architect in Princeton, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in New York City, and The Architects Collaborative (TAC) in San Francisco.

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Published on: December 28, 2022
Cite: "Merging old and new. Blue Bottle Zhang Yuan Cafe by Neri&Hu" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/merging-old-and-new-blue-bottle-zhang-yuan-cafe-nerihu> ISSN 1139-6415
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