The Shàng by Artyzen Qiantan Shanghai

The Shang Hotel is a new hotel brand created by the Artyzen Group. The project, located in an existing structure, came with unique building constraints; the design team was challenged with an exceptionally small room footprint, 18.5 sqm to be exact, which was required to be “versatile” at the same time. Neri&Hu drew inspirations from cabinets of curiosities or curio boxes dating back to the 16th through 19th century, across cultures from both the East and the West. Inspired by our research, each room became a curio box, with mechanisms that open and close to reveal various functions such as the wardrobe or the lavatory.

Once popular among European collectors, exotic artifacts were brought in from the “new world” and displayed in Curio Rooms or custom cabinets with special mechanisms that could both store and display these items. In Asia, curio boxes were prevalent in the Qing dynasty court, emperors commissioning curio boxes as apparatus to store and display precious stones and artifacts. By introducing a gridwork of white oak and panelized jade-green concrete infills into the room, we then activate the gridwork in specific locations to corresponding guestroom functions. Structural elements protrude out to create the vanity with drawers, hand basin, and hotel amenities. For inspiration on compact furniture, the team turned to classic references such as Le Corbusier’s famed seaside house Cabanon, and studied the versatility and functionality of the various furniture pieces in this iconic cabin. In a similar spirit, the guestroom beds are custom designed with hidden drawers on the bottom that would provide extra storage. These beds are also movable on lockable wheels to provide an option for a joining king size bed when needed. Every component inside the curio room is meant to provoke a sense of curiosity and exploration for guests to interact with while inhabiting the room.

In the public areas, taking inspiration from Shanghai, the first city to launch SHANG hotel, Neri&Hu introduced elements that were unique to its locale. Upon arriving at the lobby, guests enter a double height space expressed as a floating lantern. Clad in honey oak screens, the “lantern” is anchored by a feature staircase leading up to the second-floor meeting rooms. Below the wooden staircase, feature wooden planes fold and turn to create lounge spaces and a library table suitable for co-working. The library table is accentuated by custom lamps inspired by green glass shaded banker lights. Popularized in the 1930s in banks and libraries, the iconic green lampshades evoke the notion of a communal space. The perforated wooden screens defining the “lantern” are customized with abstract patterns reminiscent of shadows cast by Shanghai Plane Trees on the streets, a signature scenery of the Former French Concession neighborhood. The only F&B venue of the Shang Hotel is located on the ground floor, immediately next to the arrival lobby. The conventional all-day dining is substituted by a café concept with a la cart ordering that runs throughout the day, catering to both hotel guests and outside patrons.

The honey oak staircase enveloped inside of the feature lantern continues up to the second level where meeting rooms are located. A series of wooden panels are introduced to the meeting room pre-function space creating a strong sense of procession sequence as guests move through the public circulation. There are two meeting rooms and one lounge space. The largest meeting room has the capacity to nearly open fully into the pre-function spaces. The meeting room glazing consists of gradient glass to enhance privacy while allowing natural daylight into the pre-function. A small gym is located on the fifth floor, with mirror surfaces layered behind wood screens on the perimeter.

The Shang Hotel with 210 keys is a truly compact but unique hotel experience. Neri&Hu was able to meet the demanding challenges given to the team and create spatially unique guestrooms that are both versatile and intricately detailed, within an 18.5 square meter foot print. The project’s existing architectural constraints and limitations meant the team had to come up with creative solutions to utilize space while solving very practical issues. To enhance the spatial experience inside the bedroom, mirrors were incorporated into the gridwork as an infill material to extend the sense of width in the 2.7 meter, sometimes 2.5 meter room span. The compact and tight footprint was turned into an asset and design feature rather than a design hindrance.