Jing’An Innovation Galaxy International Cultural and Creative Park

The project combines both existing structures and new buildings to support a variety of business typologies and scales. The goal is to create a district which can support a diversity of entrepreneurs, allowing new start-ups and established businesses to operate side-by-side, creating opportunities for interaction and symbiosis between a range of businesses.

This project creates a human-scaled, urban environment by combining both old and new structures within its pedestrian-friendly master plan. The project’s new buildings work with and create contrasts to the site’s existing factory structures. Together, the design’s old and new buildings create a holistic vision for an urban, entrepreneurial district, crucial to creating the kind of active, 24/7 place desired by twenty-first century businesses and creative entrepreneurs.

The project’s first phase includes three scales or typologies of new structures. First, a larger “gateway” building creates a threshold and entry at the western edge of the site. This structure, with its larger floorplates, can support a variety of larger established companies, venture capitalist groups, and training facilities for the district.

Second, a series of smaller office “village” structures line the edge of a new street through the site. These structures can support of variety of medium-scaled businesses and will house a number of established “star” designers’ ateliers.

This project’s first phase also includes two new specialty structures. The first is known as the “Treehouse,” a small structure that can house both a restaurant facility and a specialty headquarters. The second specialty structure will house a flexible 280-seat black box theater and event space. Both structures are being designed by guest designers, adding a diversity of design voices to the project.

In combination with the adaptive re-use of the Wanrong Road site’s existing factory structures, these new structures will create an active, entrepreneurial environment , utilizing a piece of Shanghai’s history to enrich the city’s entrepreneurial future.