A project that took a little over six years to design and construct opened its doors this week along Huangpu River in Shanghai's West Bund. The brainchild of famed Chinese collector and businessman Qiao Zhbing, Tank Shanghai consists of five preserved oil tanks which are connected by OPEN architecture's "Super-Surface," a new ground that connects each tank underneath the surface. Along the Super-Surface is an Urban Forest which stretches along the entire site as well as two plaza spaces which will host ceremonies and events. The firm's goal was to pay tribute to the site's industrial past while creating a new urban life through a marriage of art and nature within the city. 

Historically, the site was the Longhua airport which stretched along Shanghai's Huangpu River. The site's decommissioned oil tanks, which were originally used to store fuel for the nearby international airport, as well as a fire-fighting pool were site elements OPEN architecture used to transform the area. The 645,000 square foot art park is now home to various exhibition spaces, gardens, restaurants, and shops for the public to enjoy. 

During the opening week, the museum featured exhibitions from Argentinian sculptor Adrian Villar Rojas and a group show of contemporary Chinese artists. The third exhibition is presented by teamLab titled "Universe of Water Particles in the Tank" features a breathtaking display of color and light. The cylindrical shape of the old oil tank helps display a large cascading waterfall, a fitting piece of work for the museums opening. Within the grounds of the park are embedded misting devices that add to the ambiance of the site, transforming the stone paved plaza into a foggy field. The mist also functions as a way to manage and improve the area's microclimate during hot weather. 

In regards to the project's design and construction the team shares, "each of these transformations, which thoughtfully preserve and in some cases retain largely untouched the original features of the tanks, had to overcome significant design and construction challenges posed by the constraints of working with the existing structure of each tank." When asked about the project's intentions the firm shares, "this project is a story about how industrial relics are reincarnated through art in a new era of city development."