Baoshan Long Beach is a one-of-a-kind waterfront community situated at the mouth of the Yangtze Jiang, China’s longest river. A redevelopment of former container-shipping facilities, Baoshan Long Beach creates several residentially led mixed-use neighborhoods that are interspersed with generous parks—all arrayed along a two-kilometer riverfront esplanade that hosts shops, services, cafes, and restaurants. Baoshan Long Beach combines the density, energy, and liveliness of a city with the tranquility and expansiveness of green parklands and sweeping water vistas, capturing views of Shanghai’s iconic CBD skyline to the south and the broad Yangtze River to the north.

The project started with an international competition to develop a master plan encompassing the 78-hectare waterfront site. Perkins Eastman won the competition, and was then commissioned by the Shanghai International Port Group (the port authority of Shanghai) and Franshion Properties to provide architectural and landscape design services for two of Baoshan’s mega-blocks—Block B5, which is completed, and Block B4, which is due to complete by the end of 2022—along with the development’s East Park and West Park, and the Long Beach Esplanade.

Block 5

The master plan, particularly in Block 5, embraces the principles of “Wei He,” organizing the buildings to create continuous street walls that define exclusive interior courtyard “rooms.” This design approach creates private, safe, and intimate outdoor amenities for the residents. The outward-facing street walls create well defined park edges at the pedestrian level, while the stepped massing establishes a distinct skyline profile that will be visible and identifiable from a distance.

The buildings are grounded in a park-like setting, with two-sided, multi-level retail streets on the north edge of the site. An esplanade to the north of both sites will provide residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy and interact with the waterfront. In addition, each block will have a unique character, based on different massing and materials, fenestration, and façade details.

Block 4

The intention with Block 4 is to create a special place that sets it apart from other developments by taking inspiration from the maritime heritage of the site. The tower façades are inspired by the nautical theme, and its clean, white facades reinforce that concept. Most residential units will be in buildings with North-South orientation, but consistent with “Wei He” principles, both blocks will also have East-West facing units that feature park views integrated with and linked to the North-South buildings.

Construction in progress, Spring 2022