Open Architecture transforms airport facilities into Tank Art Park in Shanghai
The point where old and new meet is often the space where some of the most interesting architectural experiments take place; and Shanghai's brand new Tank Art Park is a case in point. The city's latest cultural space is the brainchild of Beijing based studio Open Architecture and opened its doors to the public this weekend.
Occupying five abandoned aviation fuel tanks and further facilities that once belonged to Longhua Airport, the site is an expansive 47,448 sq m situated on the West Bund district, by the river. The tanks and their surroundings have now been transformed into an integrated cultural space that brings together art, leisure and nature – something of a specialty for Open Architecture. The studio is experienced in innovative art spaces that offer eye-catching design but also blend with their context – their latest works include projects, such as the UCCA Dune Art Museum.
The five tanks serve a large variety of uses; there's dedicated space for live music performances in one, another hosts a restaurant, while the last three are designed to contain exhibition spaces. A large open air park unites everything, creating valuable green space for the city on the banks of the Huangpu River as well as connections between the different areas. Further flexible indoor exhibition and service spaces can be found below ground level, subtly interconnecting the tanks.
The architects were keen to maintain the site's distinctive character, so, many of the original industrial features were preserved. ‘[The project transforms] containers of fuel into containers of culture, while paying tribute to the site’s industrial past', they say.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of Open Architecture
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
The visual feast of the Sony World Photography Awards 2024 is revealed
The Sony World Photography Awards 2024 winners have been revealed – we celebrate the Architecture & Design category’s visual artists
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Don’t Move, Improve 2024: London’s bold, bright and boutique home renovations
Don’t Move, Improve 2024 reveals its shortlist, with 16 home designs competing for the top spot, to be announced in May
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Perfumer H has bottled the scent of dandelions blowing in the wind
Perfumer H has debuted a new fragrance for spring, called Dandelion. Lyn Harris tells Wallpaper* about the process of its creation
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Beijing City Library is an otherworldly escape from the digital world
Beijing City Library by Snøhetta is a flowing, welcoming space to share knowledge and socialise
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Chinese scholar Zhang Taiyan’s house opens as a museum and bookshop in Suzhou
20th-century Chinese scholar Zhang Taiyan’s house in Suzhou has opened to the public as a museum, featuring a bookshop designed by Tsing-Tien Making
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Jiaxing’s sunken train station is a hub of urban greenspace and efficient city links
Jiaxing Train Station by MAD Architects is a bubble of urban green space with a blend of reconstructed historical design and modern minimalism
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Junya Ishigami’s Zaishui Art Museum in China was conceived as a ‘gentle giant’
Japanese architect Junya Ishigami completes Zaishui Art Museum, a kilometre-long building positioned in a manmade lake and aiming to ‘bring the outside landscape in’
By Joanna Kawecki Published
-
Sun Tower, rising on Yantai’s waterfront, wins Best Building Site in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024
We take a tour of the building site at Sun Tower, Open Architecture's new nature-inspired cultural attraction for the seaside town of Yantai in China
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Forest Villa transforms an existing building shell into a minimalist villa engulfed in nature
Forest Villa by HAS is a minimalist home in suburban China, crafted in an existing building shell, and working with its idyllic natural context
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Chinese island house brings luxury minimalism to seaside living
L House by AD Architecture is a Chinese island house that bridges luxury minimalism and seaside living
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
National Portrait Gallery reopens its refreshed home
London’s National Portrait Gallery reopens with a design by leading architect Jamie Fobert and conservation specialist Purcell
By Ellie Stathaki Published