Signals & Stats : Daily Signals

The Hub Performance and Exhibition centre by Neri&Hu, Shanghai. Photography by Dirk Weiblen

Hub of the action

Shanghai – A new cultural centre has been created in the heart of the city’s transport system.

The Hub’s interior was designed by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office
It incorporates office buildings, a hotel and a shopping centre

Inspired by nature, the Hub Performance and Exhibition Centre has been designed as a ‘retreat from the heavily built context and visual overload of contemporary culture’. The interior of the main space is clad in grey sandstone, while a floating awning comprising hundreds of sticks floats above the viewer’s head.

Visitors are transported directly by escalator from the subway station to the five-storey building, which consists of a central atrium with various performance spaces leading off from it. The space also draws inspiration from local traditions, with a 750-seat performance hall encased in slatted wooden screens designed to be reminiscent of the bamboo scrolls used as a writing tool in ancient China.

The overall impression is luxurious, with oak and printed walnut featured throughout. But guests will be reminded of the area’s humble past in hand-painted tiles in the private viewing rooms, which narrate the region’s history.

The Big Picture

Designers are adopting locally sourced materials and traditional aesthetics to create spaces that are aligned with the heritage of the area. For more, see our Crafted Locale design direction.