Our regular Interiors features take a look through the keyhole into the homes and businesses of some of Shanghai's well known faces.
Photos by Mario Grey
“When you think of Shanghai, you think of the Bund,” says Louis Houdart, the founder and global director of branding agency Creative Capital. Since 2006, he and his wife have been living at an apartment at the historical Art Deco-style Embankment Building right by the Suzhou Creek. “I must’ve visited more than 40 places before finding this place,” the Frenchman says, recalling the first time he stepped into his current home and feeling mesmerized by the building’s colorful history, the flat’s high ceiling, and its potential for a complete redesign.
Though the layout has completely changed since he first purchased the apartment, much of its old Shanghainese architectural and design heritage has remained. Here’s a look inside.
When Houdart first saw the apartment, the current living and dining areas used to be separated into two subdivided units. After breaking down the wall for more space, the designers retained the original door and installed at the entrance of the den.
For his business, Houdart usually spends about three weeks per month in China (split between Shanghai and Shenzhen) and is on the road for the rest of the time. While in Shanghai, Houdart enjoys spending time in the neighborhood surrounding his home. “[The Suzhou Creek area] is very quiet but it’s also very close all the action,” he says, referring to the high-end restaurants and bars along the Bund and various retailers and shopping malls along Nanjing Lu.
Now labeled ‘Heritage Architecture’ by the Shanghai Municipal Government, the Embankment Building was built for Victor Sassoon by the architecture firm Palmer and Turner in the early 1930s. It was once the largest apartment building in East Asia and also Shanghai’s very first residential building with a Bund view. Due to the family’s Jewish roots, the Sassoons had converted several floors of the building to receive Jewish refugees from Europe during the height of World War II.
Maintaining the original design elements during the major renovation was essential for Houdart and his designers. As seen in the den, where Houdart spends a lot of time reading, all the original windows as well as around the house were kept. But since the original flooring was already in bad shape when they arrived, Houdart’s designers purchased some black wood flooring from an old shikumen lane house that was being torn down near Xintiandi as a replacement.
Houdart’s penchant for contemporary art is reflected in his collection of sculptures and paintings around the flat. In addition to several animal scupltures of various sizes on the coffee table and in the dining room, the most interesting piece is the sculpture of a migrant worker made by artist Zhang Jianhua that he purchased in Beijing’s 798 Art District.
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