Redtown is known for its red-brick Shanghai Sculpture Space, big
exhibitions and events, but it is getting livelier with new
artists' and designers' studios, restaurants, bars, cafes and
nightclubs.
The Shanghai No. 10 Steel Factory was once the industrial pride
of the city, and now its red-brick No. 7 workshop is the Redtown
cultural center, a magnet for those interested in art,
entertainment, dining, clubbing or a cup of tea.
Redtown is known for its permanent Sculpture Space, which opened
in November 2005. And numerous art and fashion exhibitions and
celebrations, and it is getting livelier, more personal and
welcoming. It's not just a place for big events, but it's getting
to be a creative hub in the former French Concession area.
Shanghai has around 70 such creative spaces, most in old
industrial areas, and Redtown is one of the largest and the best
designed.
"Culture is important to a city, and its industrial legacy is
also part of the culture," says Zheng Peiguang, CEO of Redtown
Culture Development Co, the man who saved and developed Redtown. He
has been devoted to protecting historical buildings since 2000.
"My goal is to build an international culture community, not
simply a sculpture space," says Zheng, "and this community should
be characterized as cultural and open, not only cherished by
artists, but also appreciated by common people."
Zheng has rented other factory buildings nearby to complete his
dream community, Redtown. Now more than 45 companies have rented
space, including bars, tea houses, restaurants, design and
artistic/creation offices.
"All the design and creation groups here are the best in their
fields, says Zheng. "I want to help them to succeed. I even offer
zero-rent initially to struggling companies with potential."
One of those talented newcomers is designer Yang Mingjie, who
undertakes projects for Zheng and Redtown in exchange for
space.
"This was the romantic French Concession area in the early 20th
century, the energetic steel works in mid-20th century, and now it
is the fashionable modern art center," says Yang. "The streets
haven't changed much, but dwellers changed greatly. Sometimes I
can't help imaging the steel workers doing their jobs energetically
just where I sit."
Other design studios include Leissie Design Studio from Italy,
Da She Architecture, which was honored for best building by the
American magazine Business Week, and Jamy Yang Associates Design,
which cooperated with Siemens, and Shanghai Expo in products
design.
Restaurants include BECA that serves French cuisine; tea houses
include Jing Ran Xuan Tea House; bars include the Swiss-run Fan
Town bar.
The two nightclubs are CICI Club, spinning house, hip-hop,
breaks, chill out, and lounge, and Children's Club.
Redtown goes back to 1956, founding of the Shanghai No. 10 Steel
Factory, which produced 400,000 tons of cold- and hot-rolled steel
strips annually. But in 1989 the city ordered factories to move out
of the downtown so that the area could be modernized and developed
more fashionably.
Converting unused factories into creative space is not unusual.
Take a look at Soho in New York, the South Bank of the Thames in
London, Grange Island in Vancouver. All of them used to be
industrial areas, now they are art centers, like Redtown, which is
just beginning.
Zheng was concerned about the old steel works and other
buildings years ago, but the policies and regulations at the time
made it impossible for him to develop them. He watched as many
buildings were pulled down and replaced by construction materials
markets, then a garbage dump.
"I was startled when I saw the private museums and creative
communities in Melbourne and Sydney in 2005, they were so
beautiful," says Zheng. "I told myself I have to go back and do
something with the Shanghai No. 10 Steel Factory."
Zheng revisited the steel mill when he returned but was again
shocked to see that only the No. 7 workshop remained. There was
only a huge garbage dump in the front.
Yet again, Zheng was not allowed to rent the workshop as he was
told that the government already had plans for the structure.
"How did I finally get the building?" asks Zheng. "I think it
was fate that brought us together."
Two days after Zheng was rejected, he met an official of the
Bureau of Urban Planning of Changning District. He asked Zheng
whether he was interested in building a sculpture center - exactly
on the site of the No. 7 workshop of the Shanghai No. 10 Steel
Factory.
"You can imagine how I felt at that moment," says Zheng. "Though
there were already seven companies bidding for the project, I
applied for it, too. I was confident about myself and my group. I
was sure I would get it."
After six months' evaluation and revision, Zheng's plan was
selected. It only took four months to complete the project.
?(Shanghai Daily July 27, 2007)
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