9 Jul 2013

Design Republic Home, Shanghai, China

Shanghai architect-designers Neri & Hu have meticulously renovated a three-storey, colonial-style former police station, preserving the original red brickwork and salvaged signage, to house Design Republic Commune, a new creative hub in the central Jing'an district.

The mixed-use space comprises Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton's latest restaurant Commune Social on the ground floor and the Secret Society Bar on the second. And it's now possible to stay overnight in the third-floor 240sq m loft.

The bedroom, open-plan living space and dining room were decorated with pared-back elegance, simple white plaster walls, panoramic windows and high ceilings with exposed original wood beams and trusses. The mix of modern and vintage furnishings includes an aluminium-topped dining table by Konstantin Grcic for BD Barcelona Design, a Roll & Hill chandelier and carpets from Nanimarquina - and, in the industrial-look bathroom, a Shaker-inspired walnut shelving system designed by Neri&Hu to store toiletries and books. – Catherine Shaw

511 Jiangning Road, Shanghai, China; tel: 86.21 6176 7088; www.thedesignrepublic.com

The article is republished with permission from Wallpaper.com. For more travel news, visit wallpaper.com/travel.