Shared office gives new lease of life to century old space
When a modern concept meets an old building with more than one hundred years of history, what happens? The newly opened co-working space MIXPACE•Carlowitz gives us an insight.
From an arms and ammunition company in the Qing dynasty to a bank in the early years of twenty century, the building now has the function of a co-working space.
Located right at the crossroads of Jiangxi Road M. and Jiujiang Road in Huangpu district, the Carlowitz & Co. Building is one of dozens of historical pieces of architecture in the Bund area.
Built in 1898, the Queen Anne-style five-story building with a brick structure was the biggest office building in Shanghai at the time of its being built.
Last year, MIXPACE – a well-known Shanghai co-working company – began to refurbish the third to fifth floors of the building, giving the old space a brand new lease of life.
But during the process of refurbishment, the team faced many difficulties and unexpected situations. Even just the measuring work took three times longer than that of a standard project.
Robben Bai, the project's architect, and CEO of MIXPACE Yintao Feng, tell us more in the video below. Check it out!
The before and after pictures below show the extent of work done during refurbishment