Archinect - News

OMA mixes historic renovation with new construction in the masterplan for Columbia Circle in Shanghai

2017-04-03T13:55:00-04:00

OMA has designed a new masterplan for Columbia Circle in Shanghai. A historically-rich area, Columbia Circle includes preserved colonial-era monuments as well as former industrial buildings. Located on a 4.7 hectare compound, the new master plan is the first urban renewal project in the city center by the Chinese real estate developer Vanke.

The site includes the Columbia Country Club, which was designed by the American architect Elliott Hazzard in the 1920s, as well as a villa designed by the Hungarian architect László Hudec in 1930, which was owned by Sun Ke, the son of Sun Yat-sen. Later, the latter building became a research campus owned by the Shanghai Institute of Biological Products.

In line with many other recent projects by OMA, the Columbia Circle Masterplan involves a mix of transforming existing buildings and building new ones. Intended to house a range of programs from business spaces to hotels and cultural venues, the mixed use development will also include outdoor space...

A Living Room Suspended Over Columbus Circle

2012-09-19T18:48:00-04:00

For his latest project, he enclosed Gaetano Russo’s 1892 statue of Christopher Columbus at Columbus Circle within a living room on a scaffold more than 70 feet up. Visitors will be admitted into the 810-square-foot space for a carved-marble-eye view of Central Park.

High Above Columbus Circle, a Living Room, TV Included

2012-08-12T22:40:00-04:00

Imagine you’re a New York City building official, and the mayor’s office has decided to let an artist build a living room six stories up in the air and wrap it around a historic statue of Christopher Columbus in the middle of one of Manhattan’s busiest intersections. Oh, and the plan is to have 100,000 people climb up stairs to view it.