Spring in their Step
Eighteen months after opening an office in Shanghai, Farrells have been appointed as architect planners for two major new mixed-use developments in the city. Located on either side of the Huangpu River, these prestigious projects will transform the urban landscape of the central northern area of Shanghai.
Historically, Shanghai’s coastal location meant that it was a thriving port and centre for trade in the East. Now a global city, it is one the world’s leading financial centres with the second highest population in China. Farrells’ global experience of city planning led to these separate commissions for The Springs development north of the city and a further development within the Shanghai shipyard area in Pudong.
The Springs mixed-use project is a residential, commercial, and retail complex totalling 10 million sq ft on 66 acres of land in one of the fastest growing neighbourhoods and education hubs in Shanghai. The masterplan is sensitive to the existing environment with much of the open, green spaces retained offering different people and communities easy access to nature.
The existing Zha Ying Road and Songhu Road linear parks border the new development which has been heavily invested in by the city of Shanghai with excellent landscaping, water courses and outdoor furniture. These existing parklands were the context from which the Springs masterplan was created for developer Tishman Speyer, seamlessly integrating with the surrounding natural landscape.
On the Southern side of the Huangpu River, the second new development masterplanned by Farrells is located within the shipyards of the Pudong district in the heart of the city’s financial district. The masterplan will create a new retail and leisure destination with high quality offices for large-scale financial enterprises providing 5 million sq ft of accommodation. The development steps downs towards the waterfront and the towers benefit from views across the water, with the lower level retail units bordering a public plaza and tree lined promenade leading to the water’s edge.
TFP Farrells