DP Architects: Winner of World Design Awards 2025. Life Hub @ Bund Central is a mixed-use commercial complex comprising of a retail mall and a 180m-tall office tower, existing as the key insertion within the urban regeneration of the larger Hongkou Lot 18 in Shanghai, China.

The site’s holistic master plan reflects the relevance of Hongkou District’s rich heritage against Shanghai’s fast-paced development, consisting of the Heritage Zone; which encompasses Gongyi-Fang, one of the largest conserved in-situ ‘shiku-men’ neighbourhoods, the Shanghainese Cultural Centre, and the Shanghai Literature Museum. Life Hub @ Bund Central connects with these cultural and retail programmatic clusters in the Heritage Zone through a system of pathways and activated plazas that carve out visual sightlines and reframe relationships between programmatic adjacencies.

Urban Interfaces: Composing the City Gallery

The development sits at an important junction along North Sichuan Road and Haining Road, sculpted in response to the surrounding urban forces and large swathes of conserved buildings on-site. The site’s northern and eastern edges are defined by the Heritage Zone, consisting of stretches of two to three-storey conservation buildings and park spaces housed within half of the site. In tandem with the client’s spatial requirements, the resultant massing is concentrated along the south, gradually stepping down in response to the Heritage Zone. Anchoring the south, the office tower is composed of large, interlocking volumes which overlook the Shanghai skyline.

Sliding alongside the office tower, the retail podium presents itself as a City Gallery with programmatic boxes and outdoor decks, accented by the City Window that offers outdoor dining facing The Bund. The horizontality of the facade is intentionally aligned to reinforce the city’s main thoroughfare. The façade features textured grey-toned striations of ceramic and aluminium panels that echo historical masonry constructions, and further break down the scale of the development.

On ground, the southern plaza features a sculpted Flagship Volume that leads into the mall. Its geometry is intentionally shaped for porosity, framing the southern entrance and historic Ying Chuan Villa, while revealing visual and spatial connections into the alleys of the Heritage Zone.

Festive Plazas: Spatial Dialogue between New and Old

To complete the site’s urban regeneration, a tightly knitted network of public circulation space enables Life Hub @ Bund Central and the Heritage Zone to spatially amalgamate. From the north, visitors wander through century-old ‘li-longs’ (alleyways) to naturally congregate at Festive Plazas. Flanked by transparent double-volume shopfronts, these threshold spaces are shaped by main entries angled away from the Heritage Zone and marking the datum of adjacent conservation buildings.

At the heart of the development lies the Central Plaza, which hosts a multitude of urban activities and overlooks the Sunken Plaza, extending the public space into a sheltered event space that vibrantly frames the Shanghainese Cultural Centre. Rising along the elevation, terraces step back as progressive waves in response to the conservation buildings, revealing a theatrical dialogue between old and new.

Subverting the Traditional Retail Experience

On entering Life Hub @ Bund Central, the internal circulation organically weaves the interior and exterior environments together. Sky courts punctuate the mall, introducing natural light and visually linking the main atrium with themed outdoor spaces. On the fifth floor, the sky court offers outdoor dining with views, while the seventh floor features a restored Jiang-nan stage pavilion, creating a unique cultural destination within the urban retail setting.

The mall’s terraced form extends the connective relationship on plan to the development’s elevation. Gentle slopes and steps lined with planters connect shopfronts, living green walls, and outdoor retail areas to form an animated Garden Walk with strategic access at every level. These culminate at the Sky Theatre on the sixth floor, opening spectacular aerial views into the century-old Heritage Zone.

Through intentional physical and visual connection, the site challenges the typically insular typology, transforming the retail mall into an urban park. It offers a new chapter of experiential and commercial possibilities, inviting locals and visitors to explore the city’s heritage and immerse themselves in a century of urban transitions.

Accommodating approximately 293,000 sqm of floor area, DP Architects served as the design lead for overall master planning of Hongkou Lot 18. The project scope included architectural design for all new buildings, including Life Hub @ Bund Central, as well as office interior design, landscape design and exterior lighting design. Life Hub @ Bund Central has been awarded the following:
– LEED Platinum
– WELL Core Platinum
– RESET Embodied Carbon certification.

Project Details:-
Firm
DP Architects

Architect
Niew Pey Ran, Goh Yong Qin

Project Name
Life Hub @ Bund Central

Project Category
Mixed-Use (Built)

Team
Niew Pey Ran, Goh Yong Qin, Wang Jian, Tao Jia, Lu Jiaping, Wang Xiao-en, Cassandra Ho, Fan Hua, Liu Chen, Peng Zijun, Wang Liyi, Wu Xiao-Jun, Yin Zhen-qin, Zhu Yuelin, Dong Su-hong, Leng Yu-han, Wang Zhen, Yu-fang Ruo-di, Zheng Yi, Zhong Xiaohui, Zuo Jiali

Project Location
Shanghai, China

Country
China

Photography ©Credit
©DP Architects, Yang Tao, courtesy of DP Architects; Chong Bang Group

DP Architects is a leading multidisciplinary design practice in Asia with over 900 staff in 16 global offices and 8 specialist companies. Founded in 1967, it has a deep portfolio of works including Golden Mile Complex, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore Sports Hub and Our Tampines Hub. From Singapore, the ideas and methodologies of the design practice have since been applied to projects across 77 countries. Under its Green-Well-Tech thrust, DP delivers interdisciplinary design solutions at all scales for better-than-sustainable outcomes, contributing to sustainable development and a city’s long-term socio-economic resilience and vibrancy.