Tank Shanghai

Project implementation: China
Project development: China

Nature Into Building
Tank Shanghai Art Center is located on the banks of Huangpu River in the West Bund area, part of a large-scale project to transform the former industrial zone into a vibrant river-front community.

The specific site for Tank Shanghai was once part of an abandoned airport with decommissioned aviation fuel tanks, which underwent a long and thorough decontamination process before redevelopment.

While carefully preserving the oil tanks and transforming them into different art spaces, OPEN “invited” nature to turn the entire site—once paved in concrete with barely any grass—into an urban park open to all. The Art Center is then seamlessly embedded into this newly created urban forest and grassland, without revealing where the architecture starts and ends. It is an art center without boundaries—emblematic of this unique institution’s vision for contemporary art.
Central to the design is the merging of architecture and landscape through a Z-shaped “Super-Surface”—a five-hectare landscaped expanse of trees and grasses which connects the five tanks and integrates the site’s different elements. The Super-Surface provides both aesthetic and practical benefits to its riverside context, which enjoys a 115-meter stretch of shoreline. The lush greenery creates an attractive and urgently needed parkland in a city with just 17.56% green space, contributing to ecological restoration and the return of animal life.

Flanking the south side of the plaza, an “Urban Forest” provides much desired shade and greenery to the urban residents. On the east, a grassy plaza offers open space for leisure and outdoor events, doubling as a standing area for large audiences during festivals.

Programmatically, the varied spatial configurations and flexible design allow the institution to host diverse exhibitions, performances and community activities. Despite the structural challenges of adapting the tanks, the renovation preserves many of their original industrial features, maintaining a dialogue between past and present.
In summary, Tank Shanghai adapted containers of fuel into containers of culture and life, connecting people, art, and nature. It stands as a social equalizer that attracts and generously accommodates people from all walks of life.

About OPEN:
OPEN is an architecture office that collaborates across different disciplines to practice architectural, urban, landscape, and interior design. We also research and develop design strategies in the context of unprecedented challenges facing our generation and beyond.

OPEN was founded by LI Hu and HUANG Wenjing in New York City. It established its Beijing office in 2008. Some major projects by OPEN include: Sun Tower, Shanfeng Academy, Chapel of Sound, Shanghai Qingpu Pinghe International School, UCCA Dune Art Museum, Tank Shanghai, Pingshan Performing Arts Center, Tsinghua Ocean Center, Garden School/Beijing No.4 High School Fangshan Campus, and Gehua Youth and Cultural Center.

Participate in the program of debates, workshops and associated activities!

TODAY (10.10)

2:30 pm – table Risk-Free Periphery in the Context of Climate Change

4pm – table Knowing to Transform: Community Climate Risk Reduction and Adaptation Plans

6:30 pm – table Inclusive Adaptation: Nature-Based Solutions in the Peripheries

9am – Drawing Workshop: Oscar Niemeyer's Architecture in Ibirapuera Park and the Climate Challenge

IN THE NEXT DAYS (11 to 14.10)

ATTENTION the table Palmas: For 36 years, the ecological capital of Tocantins which would be held on 10/11 | 7pm was canceled.

11.10 and 12.10 | 9am – workshop Inventa(rio) Fronteiras: Playing for Multispecies Cities

11.10 | 10am – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 11am – table Learning to inhabit the Anthropocene: the crisis of architecture

11.10 | 2pm – table Architecture for Learning and Civic Use

11.10 | 3pm – table Culture and Public Architecture

11.10 – 15h – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 4pm – table Reconnecting with Nature & Circular Design

11.10 | 5pm – table Architecture of Belonging: Interpreting Heritage Through Place

12.10 | 10am – table Experience: Climate Refuges and Naturalized Public Spaces, with Eco-Neighborhood

12.10 | 10:30 am – table Childhoods and Climate: Climate Justice in Vulnerable Territories

12.10 | 10:30 am – Windsock Workshop with the Floating Collective

12.10 | 3pm – table Doing a lot with a little: architectures for a planet in transition with Esteban Benavides from Al Borde office

12.10 | 4:30 pm – table Earth – building a sustainable and democratic future

12.10 | 5:45 pm – table French presence at the Biennale and screening of the film AJAP – Albums of Young Architects and Landscape Architects

13.10 – activity Pantanal Action at IABsp

10/14 | 10am – table Urgent Panorama! Space as an act of permanence

14.10 | 6pm – Launch of the “Nature-Based Education” Guide

JOIN! IT'S ALL FREE!

And there's much more until October 19th!

NOTE OF CONDOLENCE

With deep sorrow, the Brazilian Institute of Architects – São Paulo Department (IABsp) mourns the passing of architect and landscape architect Kongjian Yu, a global leader in ecological urbanism, and the members of his team who accompanied him, tragically killed during the filming of a documentary. The institute is honored to have had him as a participant in the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, where his transformative vision strengthened the dialogue between global challenges and local realities. IABsp emphasizes that Yu's contribution, which transcends borders, will remain an inspiration for generations and expresses its condolences to China, to the families of all the deceased, to his friends, and to all those impacted by his genius and dedication. Read the full note here.

OPEN Architecture | LI Hu + HUANG Wenjing