Thursday, October 18, 2012

Empire Mansions, Shanghai

Empire Mansions, Shanghai

Empire Mandsions is a large apartment block in the French Concession area of Shanghai. It dates from 1931 and was designed by Kyetay, Architects & Engineers. It sits on a busy intersection along Middle Huaihai Road and you may not be surprised to know that there are a lot of busy interestions in Shanghai.

Empire Mansions, Shanghai

The side view illustrates the size of the block and even the side entrances are impressive.

Empire Mansions, Shanghai

But as with many deco buildings the architects have made the corner of the building the main decorative feature.

Empire Mansions, Shanghai
Empire Mansions, Shanghai

Reference:
Shanghai Art Deco, by Tess Johnson & Deke Erh.

Posted by David Thompson
Place: ,

4 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 18, 2012 at 12:57 PM

    Art Deco is so timeless. It looks quite modern.

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    Replies
    1. David ThompsonOctober 19, 2012 at 10:13 AM

      So true Andrew. There are three large true Art Deco department stores in the pedestrianised area of East Nanging Rd and then a little further along there is a fourth which I presume is a modern building but it that easy to tell the new from the old.

      Delete
  2. HelsOctober 18, 2012 at 5:16 PM

    Because the French Concession area was important to my Russian emigrees before WW2, I was pleased to create a link to your post. 1931 was a perfect time to be building decent quality housing.

    Hels
    http://melbourneblogger.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/jewish-shanghai-1850-1950-safe-haven.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David ThompsonOctober 19, 2012 at 10:25 AM

      That is a very interesting post Helen. Shanghai must have been a fascinating cosmopolitian city during that time with the mix of nationalities.

      Delete

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