Hongkou food research center, Shanghai, China

Project idea

Topic: Collective spaces for social and spatial super-diversity
Shanghai is a city of 25 million people, which makes it the biggest city in China. The city is changeable, vibrant and rapidly growing. In addition, Shanghai is the city with the rich history and the generic city of nowadays simultaneously. Contrasts are visible everywhere, starting from the close neighborhood between old informal housing districts and new accommodation towers and up to huge transportation hubs, that can be crossed only with the huge pedestrian loops. The street life doesn’t stop during the night, however, it continues in its own variety, such as noise by street dwellers or by people who are just cooking together for their families. Food is everywhere in the city. Eating together and sharing the food is a strong national feature. The aim of the project is to create a public space according to the Chinese principals that have several strategies. First of all, it is to revitalize a riverfront with river transportation but also as a part of an ecosystem and place to rest and observe the iconic views. Secondly, make a plot as a part of an existing walking path by introducing the dynamic program as food festivals and street food places as well as cafes and restaurants. Additionally, to create a space with hybrid functions and with contemporary translated traditional outlook and with the atmosphere of informality.
Food center is a diverse public space. It includes a ground floor bazaar, an open arena, food courts, restaurants and a research center. All these functions are collected on the square under the canopy. The structure has translucent walls that provide natural light and ventilation. The ground floor is constantly opened and works as meeting place, market, food festival square, a place to learn what to cook and how to cook. It still has a possibility to close the ground floor if needed with the rolling doors. The market is equipped with all necessary infrastructure and underground parking. Food center has a direct access to the river, where the marina is designed. Due to the contemporary needs of sustainable development, there are floating fields on the water that allow to make experiments and grow food all year long.

Project description

The topic of a studio is collective spaces of social and spatial super-diversity. The vibrant atmosphere of the city and street food life lead me to design
a market square with the revitalization of a riverfront. After few investigations of a market square, I came up with the idea of a Food center. It
includes a market square with additional facilities as food courts, restaurants and food research restaurant. Chinese cuisine is one of the oldest
in the world, it has its own huge variety. Food in the north in the country is absolutely different from the southern cuisine. There are 4 main Chinese
cuisines and each has its own recipes, products, and ingredients. Due to the globalization and rapid growth in China, a lot of recipes and products
are lost, so these are the main goals of the research institution.
The main goal of an architectural intervention is to create a public space which comfortable to Chinese people. Space is addressed to contrast
with surrounding generic highrise architecture and is a part of a sustainable development of Shanghai. Food center is a diverse public space. It
includes a ground floor bazaar, an open arena, food courts, restaurants and a research center. All these functions are collected on the square under
the canopy. The structure has translucent walls that provide natural light and ventilation. Ground floor is constantly opened and works as meeting
place, market, food festival square, place to learn what to cook and how to cook. It still has a possibility to close the ground floor if needed with
the rolling doors. Market is equipped with all neccessary infrastructure and underground parking. Food center has a direct access to the river,
where marina is designed. Due to the contemporary needs of sustainable development, there are floating fields on the water that allow to make
experiments and grow food all year long.

Technical information

3d view, master plan, 3d schema, ground floor plan, section, small interventions, reflaction paper

Co-authors

only Dariia Spytska