MAGNIFYING THE CONTEXT_ Invited by SOHOChina to participate in an ideas competition for an office complex along the Shanghai Bund, MOD was inspired by the neighbourhood's rich existing architectural heritage and built context as the major driver in determining the outcome of our design. The essential question was how we could respond in a contextually sensitive way whilst avoiding mere mimicry of the existing art decor architecture. We were also interested in allowing a strong sense of public activity and pedestrian porosity to the riverfront through all 6 towers.
The resulting design was inspired by the transitional plenum detail between segments of the existing buildings. We extrapolated this device and had it writ large to allow our buildings to "telescope" in 2 directions, with the resulting form at once both complementing the neighbouring skyline as well as subtly introducing a contemporary piece of architecture into the equation.
We encased the retail in transparent glass and stacked the commercial program above it in a heavy masonry cladding. The illusion of the weight of the upper portion of the building sitting on the light fragile glass base hints at liberation from the constraints of the traditional masonry construction technology of the heritage buildings-another mark of this being a contemporary building.
