Fosun Art Center On The Bund, Shanghai

Fosun Art Center on the Bund, Shanghai in Double Stone Steel PVD.Double Stone Steel Vacuum Ion Plating Project

A "moving" building, like a curtain-like "tassel" external building structure, has become the most eye-catching beauty of the newly completed Fosun Art Center in Shanghai. Created by Thomas Heatherwick, a British "creative genius" architect, and Foster + Partners, the Fosun Art Center is a new landmark on the Bund and will become a new cultural landmark in Shanghai.

The afterglow of the evening slowly breaks through the mist. Standing in Puxi and looking at the Huangpu River, against the backdrop of a group of modern high-rise buildings in Pudong, the gentle and light golden sunlight slowly spreads on the quiet and dignified Fosun Art Center building. It is like an ancient emperor's crown and a traditional Chinese opera stage.

Before finalizing the design concept, he and his team collected and studied a large number of traditional Chinese theaters and decorative elements, and also deeply considered the relationship between the project and the surrounding environment of the site.The design team jointly formed by Heatherwick and Foster + Partners in London and Shanghai smoothly connected the concept and construction. 

After about four years, they finally presented a building with a mellow oriental manner on the Bund, a land with deep urban historical memory. Through the understanding and wisdom of a Western architect, they cleverly linked the urban texture, cultural context, architectural language and meaning.

British designer Thomas Heatherwick returned to Shanghai, which he is familiar with. At this time, the architectural concept that was originally just on the design drawings - Fosun Art Center - has really stood in front of him. As a designer, his face is full of excitement and surprise that he can't hide.

Thomas Heatherwick, a famous British designer and architect, founded the studio Heatherwick Studio in 1994. His works span architecture, design, sculpture, furniture, fashion, public art and other fields. He is known as "the most creative genius in contemporary Britain". He became famous for his design of the British Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, and also successfully designed the torch tower for the opening ceremony of the London Olympics...

The style of architecture within the Financial Centre is a departure from the “show off” architecture so often deployed in China’s grand schemes – the often seen towers of glittering glass and with smooth, anodyne exteriors and a non-color palette. The Bund’s square buildings are stepped, tapered and layered to create not an intimidating urban backdrop but one that embraces – despite the admittedly very tall anchoring pair of towers at the south end. This style creates an exciting and unusual architecture that has its own way of being impressive. It certainly provides an opportunity to showcase the materials used on this development -Rose Gold PVD stainless steel and bronze granite.

Windows have irregular criss-crossings of bars of the PVD stainless steel creating a grille reminiscent of a Chinese screen. In concordance with the motif of the tapering towers the gaps between the horizontal bars decrease as they advance upwards. Picking up on the emblem of the irregular rectilinear shapes some windows are “blanked out” completely with , instead, panels of PVD stainless steel in Rose Gold with square indentations. These panels appear almost as external works of abstract art.The Plaza is meant to be enjoyed at night and the buildings take on a golden glow as light is reflected from the Rose Gold PVD used extensively on the buildings’ exteriors.