Beijing Road in Shanghai has a history of more than a century, and has been the main east-west artery in the downtown area of Shanghai for more than 100 years, making the area around Beijing Road a rich historical district with a deep heritage behind the old buildings. Today we are going to introduce the Zhongyi Building located at 270 Beijing East Road.
Simple and atmospheric Classical style architecture with exquisite shape
Zhongyi Building is located at No. 270 Beijing East Road, formerly known as Zhongyi Trust Building. The building was originally built in 1924 as an office building shared by 24 companies, including trust companies, law firms, accounting firms, etc. The original was 5 floors above ground and had a basement in part. In 1991, the upper part of the building was expanded to a 7-storey building.
Historical photos of the building
The building is bordered by Beijing East Road in the south, with a long north-south and narrow east-west. The building is divided into two main annexes, with a lighted patio in the main building. The annex building and the main building were built at the same time, with 5 floors with partial 1 floor and basement, both for office purposes.
The south façade of the building is divided into three spans, the center is symmetrical, the atmosphere is simple, and it is a classical style building decorated with simple geometric patterns. The first floor is a stone finish, the upper layer is a brushed stone finish, the façade floral decorations are different shapes, there are swirling scroll bas-reliefs under the windows, and the window is decorated with simple lines. The original historical windows are solid belly steel frame single-layer glass windows, with metal strips as the main and secondary grids, copper hardware. The concave main entrance independent column is a variant of the Ionic column.
The lobby on the first floor of the building, the office on the second to fifth floors, and many other places have beautiful plastered ceilings and floral stitches, and the interior is richly decorated with wood. There are wooden doors and wooden high windows on the partition walls of the second to third floors of the building, a number of dark wooden parapets in the first-floor hall and the annexes on the second to third floors, and exquisite wooden-framed single-glass double-open spring doors in the stairwells.
Zhongyi Building is one of the representatives of shanghai's early modern reinforced concrete architecture, the overall shape of the building is simple and atmospheric, the details are chic and exquisite, it is a simplified classical style modern building, with certain architectural value.
The renovation focused on reflecting the readability of the building
Between 2010 and 2013, the building was protected and renovated, and after the façade and interior were renovated, it was used as a high-end office, and since then, it has been revitalized.
Restoration of facades that reflect the value of age
In the process of repair, the appearance of the building is restored with reference to the historical map file combined with the current situation, and strives to reflect the age value from the aspects of exterior wall finish restoration and exterior window material selection, so that the appearance of the building is readable.
The façade of the building is generally a horizontal three-section pattern, the middle section is the second to fifth floor of the key protection, which is a light beige water-brushed stone finish, which is close to the stone color of the first floor of the outer wall, and after the overall cleaning and repair, showing the original appearance of the building.
Restore the characteristic lobby space on the first floor
The hall on the first floor was originally the company's business hall, with a high and spacious space and exquisite decoration. Combined with the drawings and on-site examination, it was found that the side wall of the hall was originally a dark solid wood parapet, the ground center was a color mosaic floor, and there were two rows of Ionic columns in the hall that supported the double-layer daylighting glass skylight at the top, the upper floor was a transparent glass skylight, and the lower floor was a lead strip frame stained glass skylight, which was exquisite in craftsmanship.
The repair and restoration of the spatial pattern and decoration of the characteristic hall mainly includes the addition of the mezzanine layer after the demolition, the restoration of the original spatial pattern and characteristic decoration of the hall with reference to historical drawings; the restoration of the double-glazed skylight; the repair of the side walls and ceiling painting lines; the cleaning and repair of the dark solid wood wall; the cleaning and repair of the solid wood frame inlaid glass doors and windows, and the fixed copper hardware. The restored hall and stained glass skylights, with exquisite patterns, elegant colors, high and bright, reproduce the characteristic architecture of the Bund area.
Space optimization goes hand in hand with performance design
Restored stairwell and sub-foyer
Restored solid wood inlaid glass door
In the design, the main building adopts an open office space around the atrium, which optimizes the office flow line and meets the needs of modern office. The annex building follows the original unit-type office layout, especially the characteristic decoration of the second to third floors, such as dark solid wood walls, inner wooden doors and windows, solid wood flooring, plastered flat roof and color terrazzo floor surface of the corridor, which are well protected and restored.
Building punch point
The ceiling at the top of the building hall
In the Bund area, complete stained glass skylights of similar areas are rare, and their colors are more than ten kinds, with large areas and complete preservation, and the themes are plant motifs and paperback ornaments.
Nearby punch points
Samet Building
Located in the Bund Historical and Cultural Landscape Area, the Samed Building is an excellent historical building in Shanghai and one of the early important works of the Bund area in shanghai in modern times. The building has been used as a commercial office space for many enterprises, and later as a residential building.
Address: No. 190 Beijing East Road
Opening hours: The exterior of the building is open all day and the interior of the building is open according to the opening hours of the merchants
Green Mail Ship Building
The building was completed in 1922. At present, the building has 7 floors above ground (8 floors in part), with a total construction area of about 13,000 square meters. The main entrance is located at No. 2 Beijing East Road, and the east entrance is No. 28 Zhongshan East 1st Road. It is now the Shanghai Clearing House.
Address: No. 2 Beijing East Road
Recommended for surrounding tourist routes
Asia Tower → Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Building→ China Foreign Exchange Trading Center→ Green Mail Ship Building→ Same Building → Zhongyi Building
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Source: Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism
Editor: Sun Lingbo