The Shanghai DreamCenter development on Shanghai’s iconic Bund saw the Oval Partnership develop a masterplan for one of the central areas. Our plan encompasses the entire waterfront and multiple mixed-use buildings in the adjacent space and sets the tone for visitor engagement and a true sense of place.
Oval’s approach is firmly people-first: visitors reach the 460,000-square-metre site through a seamless link with Metro Line 11, with the riverfront offering pedestrian movement through our considered network of parks, public space and waterfront promenades — designed in collaboration with landscape consultants — that privilege walkability, connection and community.
Our masterplan encompasses retail and concept design, integrating a century of industrial heritage with Shanghai’s 21st-century urban rhythm. This includes historic cement factory structures, which our design carefully preserved and transformed into dynamic performance venues, with one building integrating a 3,000-seat arena beneath a restored dome. Through our design partnership, these spaces now host creativity and connection, blending the raw texture of the past with the vibrancy of contemporary design.
The project’s core value lies in the waterfront: it invites visitors to simply dwell at their leisure and gather spontaneously, becoming a space for public life where people interact and experience the passage of time in the city in shared open spaces. The buildings offer many functions, but here they are a backdrop to shared moments and the vitality of public life.
The cohesion and connection embedded throughout the site is where Oval’s masterplan is on full, if subtle, display. The masterplan creates the public realm framework and pedestrian circulation design; integrates the waterfront experience; connects retail and cultural venues; programmes the open spaces; and creates interfaces with the city.
Overall, our spatial logic and master planning principles intertwine culture, commerce and community to embody the city’s evolution from industrial powerhouse to global cultural capital. All that visitors need to do is enjoy their time in this landmark of innovation, technology and culture in the heart of the West Bund Media Port.
