Ricerc@Sapienza

Since 2010, the creation of the Bund 1919 has begun, through the redevelopment of the historic Wing On 2, a cotton industrial complex located in Wusong in the district of Baoshan. Exploring Shanghai's industrial heritage constitution means embarking on a journey through the history of one of the most exceptional cosmopolitan cities ever established. The sophisticated and original story of international settlements has meant that the urban system, architecture, technology reflect the meeting of many cultures and enterprising people from east and west. Some decade after the location of the foreign settlements, in the middle of 19th, the city added to the commercial vocation a vital manufacturing activity. The rapid industrial rise of the late 19th laid the foundation for the golden age of Shanghai. Finally, during the twenties and thirties, despite the political crisis of China, the city accelerates its economic and urban growth. It assumes its face, and its definitive character and an essential part of the current architectural and industrial heritage is due to this period. The cotton mill of Baoshan is one of the most representative industries of that time. The renovation project was carried out by the Shanghai Shenfang Investment Management. The company brings together the two leading players in the field, Red Town Corporation (developer of Ten Steel) and Shangtex (the textile company that owns the area). The paper highlights relevant characteristics in the industrial architecture and in the role that this mill has in the history of the cotton industry in Shanghai and China. The urban project, proposed by the company and approved by the Shanghai Municipal Administration, has set up a creative industry park. The intervention pursues three central objectives: a) establishing and managing cultural activities and enterprises b) elevating the creative industry in Shanghai, moving from Made in China to Created in China c) forming an urban centrality to start a process of regeneration and real estate development. Development bases on an open project. A group of starting uses and activities characterized the first configuration of a partial area renewed. After a period of testing and verifying phase one, the developments and expansions proceeded to all the available areas of the former cotton mill.