The Waterhouse Hotel by Neri&Hu | Shanghai, China.

Sometimes I wish I could clone myself so that I can blog about multiple things at once. I saw this hotel a couple of months ago, and it’s been sitting on my ever growing “must blog about this” list ever since. Argh! I never seem to be able to get on top of my many lists these days. Anyway, as you may have noticed, I try not to blog about stuff that’s been blogged to death elsewhere, but I make an exception every once in a while if the subject is exceptional. See where I’m going with this? So please excuse my “lateness” and if I’m about to bore you with an interior you’ve already seen a million times.

The Waterhouse in South Bund is a drop-dead gorgeous boutique hotel situated on the  banks of the Shanghai’s Huangpu River. The hotel has only 19 guest rooms, a destination restaurant [have you notice how every hotel reckons their restaurant is a “destination” one – ha!] and a rooftop bar with an all-purpose event space. Designed by Neri & Hu Design and Research Office [man, what a mouthful – from now we shall refer to them as NHDRO], the hotel is located in a transformed 1930’s building with original façade.

Ok, let’s break it down cause I’m dying here. Dying I tell ya! This hotel is incredible! By now you all probably know that I’m a major sucker for heritage buildings. As in MAJOR. There is so much to love about old buildings – they are layered with character, patina, endless stories and memories. I often wonder and ask out loud why our building and design industry [and developers in particular] focus on creating new [and often very ordinary] buildings when there are so many existing structures we could be refurbishing and re-adapting. This firmly remains as one of my greatest dreams – getting my hands on derelict and abandoned buildings and making them relevant for the future. But anyway, enough about me. Let’s talk about the hotel already!

Actually, I don’t really know what I can tell you about the hotel other than that I love, love, love, love it all. Every single bit. It’s so beautifully executed and NHDRO have managed to fuse heritage and contemporary elements and, in doing so, create a space which transcends eras and styles. I also really love the use of materials – raw concrete and brick are offset by smooth plaster walls and light timbers with just the right amount of warmth. The overall impression is both gritty and sophisticated – existing surfaces are gutsy and brave, carefully balanced with crisp and understated contemporary insertions.

This boutique hotel sits is in a league of it’s own. All that’s left to do now is for me to validate these things in person. One day.

x dana

Images via here, here and here.