The Waterhouse hotel in Shanghai is an industrial gem, salvaged from the spoils of war. The four-story hotel was built from a three-story Japanese Army headquarters from the 1930s. The Chinese architecture firm NHDRO (Neri & Hu Design and Research Office) made a series of perfect decisions to arrive at the gorgeous boutique hotel. Existing raw concrete and exposed brick were preserved, and new steel additions draw on the industrial skeleton for relevance.

Modern architecture combines seamlessly with old industrial components to capitalize on the location – a rooftop terrace offers adjacency and intimacy with the Huangpu River and offers gorgeous views of the glamorous Pudong skyline.

A unique relationship between spatial divisions exists at The Waterhouse. This quote from NHDRO explains, “The interior strategy is expressed through a blurring and inversion of the inside/outside as well as public/private, creating a disorienting yet refreshing spatial experience for the hotel guest who longs for the extraordinary.”

(Beautiful photography by Pedro Pegenaute.)

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