A Different Shanghai Through Its Architecture | Shanghai Architecture Check-In
Preface
I'm not an architecture major, nor do I work in this field, but I do enjoy looking at buildings in cities. Architects are not completely unconcerned about the location they choose before designing their work. The final product often blends their design style with the city's character, so that even buildings designed by the same architect can exhibit different qualities in different cities.
This may be the significance of looking at urban architecture.
Tadao Ando's poetic architecture
Among them, we have to mention Tadao Ando, a name that is familiar to many people. I first fell in love with his architecture when I saw a Fish Leong music video. I found that the filming location was a beautiful church, and later I learned that it was the Water Church.
I never had the chance to visit the Water Church in Hokkaido, but when I went to Osaka last year, I visited the Church of Light, one of the church trilogy.
As one of the world's leading architects, his architectural style is distinctly personal. Composed of semi-finished concrete and simple geometric patterns, he emphasizes a symbiotic relationship with nature. He uses the poetic qualities of nature, such as water and light, to neutralize the heaviness of concrete, creating a wondrous "chemical reaction."
In recent years, An Teng has ventured into China, particularly Shanghai, leaving behind numerous works that bear his own unique style while also fitting in with the city's ambiance. Art galleries, theaters, bookstores, museums...beyond simply admiring the architecture, the content within them is also worth savoring.
01Poly Grand Theatre
Concrete Kaleidoscope
Tadao Ando built this theater in Jiading, Shanghai, which is built by the lake. After being amazed by a photo of looking at the moon, it has been on his check-in list.
It was a cloudy weekend when I went to Poly Theatre.
From a distance, the square appears unremarkable. However, if you walk a little further, you'll see a cutout of one of the circles, revealing the tip of the kaleidoscope's iceberg: clear, flowing geometric forms such as circles, lines, and triangles complement and extend each other.
Because it was not an open day, there was no way to go in for a visit. You can only continue walking along the outer perimeter, where there is a small semi-open area.
This semicircle, when you walk in, is a staircase that leads upwards. If you look down at the end of the staircase, you'll find that the semicircle frames the "scenery": people resting, the flowing lake, the trees in the distance, and the light filtering in...
Going further ahead, you can see Ando's iconic bare concrete slabs, but this time they are paired with a natural wood-colored exterior. The texture continues to loop upwards, as if there is no end in sight, adding a touch of softness and blur to the gray building.
If you want to see more, it is recommended to visit during the public viewing day, which is free on the second Sunday of every month. However, if you have the opportunity to go to see a performance inside, it is also a good choice.
Recent performances
Drama stage play "Childcare" 2020.01.09
Visiting tips
💰Free
📍No. 159, Baiyin Road, Jiading District, Shanghai
🚗Metro Line 11 [Jiading New Town], then take a taxi to your destination.
02Pearl Art Museum
Space of Light
When the Pearl Art Museum first opened, I came across Tadao Ando's "Challenge" exhibition and couldn't wait to go.
The entrance to the museum is on the 8th floor of Aegean Sea Park. To the left is the ticket office, and to the right is a light and shadow gallery, where the exhibition begins. The front of this gallery showcases the design and construction process of the Pearl Art Museum.
Yes, the Pearl Art Museum is oval in shape. Unlike Ando's usual square designs, its shape resembles an "ostrich egg," seemingly symbolizing rebirth and life.
Further in, there's a tunnel led by light, neatly arranged with Ando's five eras and works (other exhibitions may have different layouts).
Then we arrived at the Island of the Mind, a multimedia exhibition hall where a huge rectangular screen plays Ando's works on Naoshima in a loop.
Other exhibition halls also emphasize the wonderful feeling brought by light and shadow: the oval in the corridor, the invisible projected triangle...so this is a space of light.
The entire light space also includes the bookstore, which is the final destination. Exiting the exhibition hall leads directly to the bookstore's "roof," where a starry sky rises overhead. This unique space can only be reached by walking from the art gallery to the bookstore.
Going down the stairs, you will find the bookstore on the 7th floor, which is open to the public. The most unique feature is the design of the bookshelves. The square hole in the middle allows you to see each shelf below, like a tunnel or a kaleidoscope.
The latest new exhibition has just ended and is currently being set up. Friends who want to go can check the official website to see if there are any updated exhibitions.
Visiting tips
🕙Closed every Monday
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 - 19:00 (last admission 18:00)
Saturday-Sunday: 10:00 - 22:00 (last admission 21:00)
🏷️ http://pearlartmuseum.org/cn
📍 8th Floor, Aegean Shopping Park, 1588 Wuzhong Road, Minhang District, Shanghai
🚗 Metro Line 10 Longbai Xincun Station Exit 3
03Aurora Museum
Lujiazui Optical Mirror
The Aurora Museum, Tadao Ando's first remodeling project in China, is located on the Pudong waterfront in Shanghai. It showcases private collections of Buddhist statues, jade, and porcelain.
You may not have been inside, but you must have seen it, because it is the most glittering building in the Pudong complex. During the day, the reflected light is strong, and at night, the neon light is even stronger.
The museum has six floors and two unique features. First, its geometric exterior, constructed entirely of glass, captures the sky, clouds, and other buildings, creating a unique, geometrically fragmented landscape.
The second is the staircase from the first floor lobby to the second floor. The basic shape of a quarter circle spirals upwards, becoming narrower and narrower from the bottom to the top. Standing on the top floor, you can see the layers of stairs below, which are neat and spectacular.
Be sure to take a picture here⬇️
While the museum's collection primarily consists of ancient Chinese artifacts, it occasionally invites contemporary artists to hold exhibitions to maintain its originality. A recent solo exhibition, "Floating Light," by Wang Daishan showcased 18 paintings created over the past two years and was well worth a visit.
Visiting tips
🕙Closed every Monday
Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-17:00
Extended hours until 21:00 on Fridays / Closed on Mondays
🏷️ http://www.auroramuseum.cn/
📍1st Floor, Aurora International Building, No. 99 Fucheng Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai
🚗 Take the Lujiazui sightseeing line and drive one-way from Lujiazui Financial City No. 1 to Lujiazui Ring Road Huayuan Shiqiao Road
Conclusion
Are buildings closely related to cities? I think it's probably 50/50. They come with the designer's own preferences, but they also make some "changes" for the city. So, finding buildings in the city that are worth visiting is also a very interesting thing.
