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800Show Creative Park
2009
Changde Road 800
Jingan District
Shanghai, China

Client
Shanghai Jinggong Group Co.
Ltd. Shanghai 800SHOW
management Co., Ltd.

Architect
logon Ltd.
Shanghai

Project Team
Frank Krueger
Borja Trujillo
Yan Wei

Site area
22,000 sqm





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This summer the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai will show to the Chinese citizens and to the visitors form all over the world the challenges of urban development under the title "Better City - Better Life". The Expo site at the Huangpu River will have all the major events in the different pavilions within the Expo-Park. Holland is showing one part of its contribution to the chosen topic in a pavilion on site. But the Dutch additionally have another venue for the display of their cultural program in the inner city at 800SHOW Creative Park in Jingan District.

This complex Park was renovated by the architects of logon from the former electrical machinery plant into a new location for all kinds of small and creative businesses, with a central space for cultural events. The whole area includes about 15 buildings with more than 20,000 square meters of space. The style of the existing buildings included villas from the 1920s, a 120-meter long factory hall and office-buildings from the 1970s. The heterogeneous ensemble was carefully analyzed and each building was renovated according to its original potential. With this methodology the mixed appearance of the original ensemble was preserved, but transformed with careful interventions for today's use.

The creative industry is booming in Chinese Cities at the moment. Some years ago the Chinese government announced that all "cultural resources" should be turned into "cultural products". This intention to perceive everything in terms of it's economic value is sometimes problematic, but makes it easier to argue for long term environmental sustainability particularly for strategies and projects where the investors do not see an immediate economic return. In history, culture and cultural development was never only about monetary value, but also about the identity and wellbeing in a given place and time. This has become a side effect of the transformation of old factories for a new business community.

In Shanghai alone there have been more than 200 old factories transformed already and there are still more to come. The atmosphere of the used heavy plants has become a reference for young creative entrepreneurs and stands for a postmodern attitude to urban lifestyle.

In the case of the 800SHOW Creative Park the architects of logon chose the narrow path between staging the building ensemble like a fashion model on the catwalk and the featureless transformation into a functional complex without history. The strategy for the renovation to give each building its own identity and to accept the fractures within the overall appearance gives the complex a lively expression. The combination of office spaces with other functions like bars, restaurants, galleries and show rooms reflects the diversity of styles and buildings within the complex - an expression like a 3-dimensional urban jigsaw.

The entrée from the street is highlighted by the transparent façade for the central showroom with the 120-meter long hall. The open roof construction and the new additions stand as an advertisement for the whole complex. Small lanes and public plazas in the inner part of the complex create a pleasant environment for users and visitors. The neighboring high-rise buildings on one side and the two story traditional residential buildings on the other side connect the Creative Park into the given urban structure. Not only in terms of function, but also in terms of its aesthetic appearance the architects of logon respected the surrounding city and created quite naturally a setting for a pleasant working environment with contemporary means. The Dutch Cultural Program will be held within the 800SHOW Creative Park during the time of the World Expo in Shanghai.
Eduard Koegel