Yangtze River – 8342 Cultural District / AND Studio

Yangtze River Center is a cultural project of 15,000m² located on the site of a former 17th century Ming Dynasty brick factory, located north of Shanghai. In 2018, the mayor of Shanghai chose this former industrial site to become the catalyzer of a large cultural project aimed at renovating and boosting several villages in the Shanghai region. Two years ago, we were contacted by the Shanghai Construction Group (the project developers) to provide them with ideas for a new concept and share with them our vision for the potential that the site could have. AND STUDIO played as an active participant in the entire development process, with the role of architect, artist, engineer, and strategist. During the visit of the site, wandering between empty buildings, we were immediately seduced by the composition of the spaces and the poetic decadence of the site, by the still very present soul of the old factory.