From Factory to Frame: MVRDV Transforms Cement Plant into Cultural Hub in Shanghai
Reviving Industrial Heritage at the West Bund Dream Center
MVRDV has recently completed the Gate M West Bund Dream Center in Shanghai, converting a former cement factory along the Huangpu River into a vibrant cultural destination. Located in the city’s rapidly developing West Bund district, the project reimagines a fragmented industrial landscape into a unified space that blends history with modernity, fostering public life and creativity.
From Asia’s Largest Cement Plant to a Cultural Landmark
The 80,000-square-meter site once housed the Shanghai Cement Factory, the largest of its kind in Asia. Following its closure after the 2010 Shanghai Expo and the city’s broader industrial restructuring, the abandoned site was left with massive concrete silos, heavy-framed buildings, and remnants of unfinished commercial structures.
Guided by a philosophy of adaptive reuse, MVRDV preserved the original industrial structures while repurposing them for new functions. Jacob van Rijs, MVRDV’s founding partner, explains:
“We saw value in the existing buildings—we didn’t want to demolish simply for convenience, as that would mean more carbon and waste. Our challenge was turning these disparate pieces into a cohesive whole.”
Design Elements That Define a New Identity
- Vibrant Orange Staircases & Elevator Towers: Serve as bold circulation markers, contrasting with the raw concrete of the old structures.
- Factory M: The main shed structure now hosts a hybrid food market on the ground floor and a flexible cultural hall above, with an orange staircase paying homage to former industrial conveyor systems.
- Climbing Silo: A towering silo has been transformed into a vertical climbing gym, with orange pathways leading to rooftop platforms offering panoramic river and city views.
Merging Greenery with Industrial Brutalism
Rather than removing or concealing the site’s unfinished buildings, MVRDV integrated them with neutral facades, green roofs, and terraces, allowing the original industrial structures to stand out as “exclamation points.” Landscape design by Field Operations introduced shaded walkways, vegetation, and leisure spaces, enhancing connectivity between the riverfront and urban fabric.
A Sustainable Legacy for Shanghai
The project demonstrates how structures of differing styles and eras can be unified to serve contemporary civic needs, aligning with global trends in post-industrial reuse. It builds on MVRDV’s portfolio of cultural revitalizations, such as Rotterdam’s Glass Factory and Tainan’s Market Hall, proving that preserving the past can coexist with dynamic innovation.
✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight
The transformation of Shanghai’s cement factory into the West Bund Dream Center exemplifies how industrial relics can be reborn as vibrant cultural hubs. MVRDV’s approach of adaptive reuse and bold orange interventions successfully unifies the site’s fragmented history, though some may argue the design’s playful contrast risks overshadowing the raw industrial aesthetic. Nonetheless, the project sets a benchmark for sustainable urban regeneration, proving that preserving the past can coexist with dynamic modernity. Its integration of greenery, public spaces, and climbing silos not only honors the site’s legacy but also invites the community to reimagine its future.
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