RSHP completes 38-storey tower adjacent to historic Zhang Garden in Shanghai

Located on Shimen First Road in Jing'an District, RSHP has completed ONE Shanghai, a 186-metre-tall, 38-storey mixed-use tower that weaves together public transport, retail, public space and retail into a unified architectural response.

Rising as three distinct vertical volumes that increase in length towards the north, the design responded to the unique location positioned adjacent to the historic Zhang Garden retail quarter. The tower’s main volume is lifted to step back from the heritage roofscape and allow views of the historic neighbourhood to remain prominent at street level.

Recessed façade elements echo the rhythm of the narrow laneways in Zhang Garden, while integrated external shading adopts a colour palette and texture that responds to the warm colours of the historic neighbourhood.

A transit-oriented development, the building connects directly with the concourse serving three interchange metro lines below the site and is accompanied by a dedicated metro entrance building that seamlessly integrates with the retail podium.

The lobby has been lifted to liberate the ground plane, allowing pedestrian movement to flow either side of the ground level retail, creating an open, permeable public realm that connects surrounding streets directly with Shimen Road.

Scenic escalators and lifts draw occupants upwards to the elevated office lobby, where double-height glazing offers panoramic and dramatic views across the low-rise roofscape of Zhang Garden.

The project was recently named ‘Best Building Winner’ and ‘Best Office Building Winner’ at the inaugural Council for Vertical Urbanism China Awards. 

Richard Paul, Director, RSHP, said: “Rather than treating transport infrastructure, heritage, public realm and workplace as separate programmes, the design brings them together into a unified experience that feels like a natural extension of the city. 

From its three articulated volumes that respond to the site's changing geometry to the elevated office lobby, every element of the design works together to reflect the grain of the surrounding historic streets while returning the ground plane to the city as generous public space. 

The result is a tower that balances a distinctive skyline presence with sensitivity to its historic surroundings, creating a harmonious transition between old and new, public and private, and the city below and the workplace above."

Ben Warner, Managing Director, RSHP Asia: “ONE Shanghai is a significant milestone as RSHP celebrates 15 years of our China office. 

The project reflects the close collaboration between our teams in London and Shanghai, working alongside China Resources Land to create a building that responds thoughtfully to its urban context while delivering an exceptional workplace and public realm. 

It demonstrates our commitment to designing architecture that is rooted in place, shaped by collaboration and designed to make a lasting contribution to the cities in which we work.”

Richard Black, Senior Associate, RSHP, said: “Working closely with China Resources Land, the project was developed through a rigorous process of testing and refinement – from full-scale façade mock-ups to the detailed design of the arrival sequence. 

That shared commitment to quality is evident in a building that is both technically accomplished and deeply rooted in its urban context.”

Ethan Yao, Deputy General Manager, Mixed-Used Design Management Department, China Resources Land: “Shanghai deserves architecture that matches its ambition. What RSHP has delivered at ONE Shanghai is not a building transplanted from London — it is a high-tech response to a Shanghai context, refined over seven years until every junction, every façade module, every public threshold serves both the city and the people who will inhabit it. 

This is a building that belongs to Shanghai but speaks a language the whole world understands.”