The Shanghai EDITION by Neri&Hu: An Urban Hotel Between Two Eras

Neri&Hu designed the interior world of The Shanghai EDITION at the meeting point of two very different urban histories. An Art Deco building and a later postmodern tower stand side by side on East Nanjing Road, close to the Bund. The challenge was not to erase their differences, but to make the passage from one to the other into a coherent hospitality experience.

Two buildings connected by one journey

A new podium joins the older Art Deco structure to the contemporary tower, providing a shared arrival space and a sequence of rooms that unfold between them. Neri&Hu uses the contrast of architectural periods as an asset, allowing people to sense Shanghai's transformation through the experience of moving across the hotel rather than relying on decorative references to the city's past.

The materials bring human scale to a destination that handles many visitors and functions. Stone surfaces, timber linings and carefully selected furniture establish a calm transition from the intensity of the street. Different thresholds and ceiling heights help distinguish social rooms and circulation areas while preserving a recognisable identity throughout the property.

Sunlight casts geometric shadows across the restaurant corridor at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

Warm materials and intimate social rooms

In the principal lobby, a large walnut-clad structure appears to hover above the lounge and bar. It introduces a warm, intimate ceiling within a much larger volume and makes the shared space feel like a sequence of smaller inhabited places. The deep colour of the wood contrasts with the lighter mineral surfaces around it, giving the reception and social areas a clear architectural centre.

In the dining rooms, green banquettes follow the windows, timber screens divide seating areas and pale upholstery softens the space. These social interiors give the larger hotel a more intimate scale, extending the sense of material warmth into the places where guests gather.

A green velvet banquette follows the dining room windows behind timber screens at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

Green curved banquettes and a pale central sofa in the restaurant at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

A historic facade revealed by a new atrium

Beyond the bar, a dramatic atrium rises approximately 26 metres. Daylight draws attention to the historic building facade, while a fireplace, hanging planting and tall mirrors animate the surrounding surfaces. The room allows the old and new architectures to be visible together, turning a necessary connection between buildings into one of the hotel's memorable spatial experiences.

Within the Art Deco building, dining rooms, meeting spaces, a spa, members' facilities and nightlife venues occupy six levels. The different functions have distinctive atmospheres, but the passage among them remains part of a continuous interior narrative.

Dining booths and timber lattice partitions open toward the bar at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

Geometric timber screens frame a red-lit bar at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

Timber lattice partitions frame an intimate dining room at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

Guestrooms and the route to the rooftop

The tower guestrooms are more restrained. Natural light oak gives the living and sleeping areas warmth, while white marble introduces a cooler, brighter material into bathrooms. Furniture and lighting are intended to feel integral to the rooms, creating a sense of continuity rather than visual excess. The city beyond the windows remains a central part of the experience.

At the top of the building, a Japanese restaurant, an aged-bronze spiral stair, the Punch Room and a high rooftop terrace connect the hotel to views of the Bund and the Pudong skyline. The architectural journey culminates with the city itself, making the hotel an interpretation of Shanghai at different heights and scales.

A bronze spiral staircase rises above the restaurant seating at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

Climbing greenery surrounds the rooftop seating overlooking the Huangpu River at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

A hotel shaped by Shanghai itself

The Shanghai EDITION's identity depends on the relationship among two inherited buildings, contemporary interiors and the surrounding urban landscape. Neri&Hu's design gives these separate conditions a common language without flattening their differences. The result is a hotel where material craftsmanship, carefully shaped circulation and the history visible outside become part of hospitality.

Pale lounge seating sits beside the bronze spiral staircase at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

Red-lit bottle shelves, timber ceiling beams and a row of bar stools at The Shanghai EDITION. Photograph: Pedro Pegenaute.

Project information and photography

Project: The Shanghai EDITION Hotel, 199 East Nanjing Road, Shanghai, China. Interior spaces, furniture and lighting: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, collaborating with the Ian Schrager Company. Area: 17,420 m². Completed: July 2018. Photography: Pedro Pegenaute. Each photograph is credited in its caption.

Sources and credits

Neri&Hu — Shanghai EDITION (official project and images)

Additional design and project coverage