{"id":783,"date":"2025-07-30T10:15:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T10:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=783"},"modified":"2025-08-01T15:09:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T15:09:02","slug":"mvrdv-adds-orange-stairs-to-shanghai-cement-factory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/30\/mvrdv-adds-orange-stairs-to-shanghai-cement-factory\/","title":{"rendered":"MVRDV adds orange stairs to Shanghai cement factory"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Silo<\/div>\n

Dutch studio\u00a0MVRDV<\/a> has overhauled a former industrial site in Shanghai<\/a>\u00a0to create the Gate M West Bund Dream Center, a riverside cultural<\/a> district punctuated with bright orange circulation routes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Situated on the Huangpu River, MVRDV<\/a> aimed to make the existing concrete silos<\/a> and former cement factory the main focal points, celebrating building reuse and the site’s history.<\/p>\n

\"Silo
MVRDV transformed an industrial site into a cultural district. Top photo by Xia Zhi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bright orange staircases and elevators were added to the exterior of the industrial buildings to guide visitors through the cultural venues.<\/p>\n

The site also contained some unfinished structures from a past development proposal. MVRDV added neutral-toned facades and green roofs to transform these structures into shops<\/a>, restaurants<\/a> and hotels<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Factory
The centrepiece of the district is a former cement factory. Photo by Xia Zhi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“It was clear from the start that there was a lot of value leftover in the buildings that were already there,” said MVRDV c0-founder Jacob van Rijs. “We didn’t want to demolish things just because it might be simpler, because that means more carbon, more waste.”<\/p>\n

“Our challenge was to bring these pieces together and make them work as a single area, because they were an awkward pairing,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“We turned the newer buildings into the backdrop, so that the industrial behemoths could be the exclamation points, with exciting functions that capitalise on their special structural features.”<\/p>\n

\"Former
MVRDV added orange circulation to the buildings. Photo by Liu Guowei<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many of the industrial buildings in the area were left empty for the Shanghai Expo 2010<\/a>, when businesses relocated to free the riverside site for the event.<\/p>\n

The centrepiece of MVRDV’s Gate M West Bund Dream Center is the M Factory building, a former cement factory that now contains a food market and restaurant on the ground floor.<\/p>\n

An orange staircase made from a conveyor belt leads to a column-free cultural space on the factory’s upper floor, which can be used for exhibitions, conferences and performances.<\/p>\n