By the 1930s Art Deco was the dominant design theme for the city’s architecture. Small details like grilles were placed about Shanghai’s homes and offices to provide function and beauty. Although Art Deco is an international style, the very simplicity and symmetry of these grilles speaks of their Chinese pedigree. During my years in Shanghai I have photographed and sketched hundreds of different grilles, many of which were on buildings which are no longer standing. These old grilles inspired me to create geometric designs which can be applied to new products. I am pleased to announce that SHANGHAI TANG has licensed seven of my designs to use on a variety of accessories such as cufflinks, photo frames, wooden boxes, melamine trays, and cups. Please visit their stores in Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York, London, or Paris. Here are two of the first products of our collaboration:
Below are sketches of the seven designs mentioned above as well as explanatory text. Each of these unique and original grille designs has a direct link to an existing Shanghai neighborhood, a street address, a house or apartment, still existing or recently demolished. Each of these streets & homes has its individual story, and this therefore gives life to the design, which is no longer perceived as simply an element of the aesthetic.
Datian This grille was found on the front entrance of a lane house, the most common type of housing in pre-World War 2 Shanghai. Located in Shanghai’s former International Settlement just off the present-day Beijing Xi Lu, this residence would have been built for a professional-class Chinese family. The lane was constructed in 1941, and as such is one of the last examples of Concession-Era Shanghai residential architecture. In the spring of 2003 this entire lane, containing this residence and its grille, was unfortunately raised to make way for a group of up-scale tower blocks. More than two years later this construction project has yet to begin.
Huaihai-1 The inspiration for this design is a small circular window on the north face of an apartment block on the Huaihai Lu, the French Concession’s former Avenue Joffre. A well-off western family probably lived here, though the neighborhood was home to many of Shanghai’s poor Russian immigrants. In any case, the late 1930s block itself is special in that it and others in the area were designed by a prestigious French architect. Refined symmetry with a healthy mix of straight lines and curves define this grille design as typically Chinese-Western Shanghai Art Deco. The external circle is uncommon, however, as most period grille designs are rectangular. Most of Shanghai’s 1930s apartment towers, including this one, are still standing. Their well-designed layouts and superior construction methods make them desirable today. Furthermore their future is secure, compared with lane houses, since Shanghai has largely become a city of design-conscious, location-sensitive apartment dwellers.
Huaihai-2 This design is a somewhat large grille built into the rear door of a ground floor flat in a Shanghai 1930s apartment block which is still standing. Around 80 Art Deco buildings like these were built during the late 1920s and 1930s, as real estate prices rose in the heart of the city. They represented the height of luxury, complete with space for servants and doormen, and fitted out with the latest Art Deco furniture and appliances. The symmetry of this design, as well as its construction including curves and straight lines, are typical of traditional Chinese window screen design. However its scale and tight curved elements are pure Art Deco. Its height and simplicity allow light to flood through the door into the interior of the flat.
Wukang-1 The inspiration for this design is a grille built into the balcony on the top of a 1930s apartment block which is still standing. This grille presents strong symmetry and weighting of both angles and curves, thus making it typically Shanghainese. The design however owes more to the Western art deco design palette than to traditional Chinese window elements.
Wukang-2 This grille is located in the road-facing, north-entrance door to a fully detached house just off Wukang Lu. The large house is built in the style typical of the day, with main rooms and garden on the south side and staff housing on the northern facade. This three-storey dwelling would have housed a prosperous family because it and the other houses in the lane are unique, not part of a development. All are representatives of Shanghai’s best 1930s architectural styles in this exclusive part of the former French Concession. Unlike almost all the other existing grilles in Shanghai that are built of riveted iron, this one is fashioned of brass. Even today it remains crisp and clean in its original unpainted state. Elegantly simple linear and circular elements are typical of traditional Chinese design, but this grille is Cubist in inspiration. Such up-to-the-moment detailing implies that the house was most certainly built by an enthusiastic owner or at the least a thorough architect. Not much has changed in this lane since the late 1930s, except that its large houses with ample gardens now hold multiple families. Although high-rise development is prohibited in the area, urban renewal will most certainly include these houses as they stand on some of the most pricey land in Shanghai.
Yongjia The inspiration for this design is a window grille on a lane house on Yongjia Lu in the former French Concession. Whilst all ground floor windows in 1930s Shanghai had iron grilles to ward off potential burglars, this example is just as decorative as it is functional. This address fronts a commercial lane, giving the residents of the time the opportunity to have a shop in their modest home. This is a small grille of asymmetrical spaces created by straight lines. Most Shanghai 1930s grilles are simpler, having just a few straight lines and curves in an overall symmetrical design. Thus this grille is likely from the late-1930s, toward the end of Shanghai’s pre-war building boom. Yongjia Lu is still a plane-tree lined, if busy, street in the heart of Shanghai. Although it has witnessed several high-rise development projects recently, most of the long street retains examples of the best of Shanghai’s in-town residences of old.
Yongqing The rows of lane houses that include grilles like this are located in the quietest part of Shanghai’s former French Concession. As such, they and other houses in the neighborhood have become highly desirable residences. The dwellings are typical for the 1930s: three-storey stucco terraces that owe their architecture heritage equally to European and Chinese styles. They would have originally housed Shanghai’s Chinese middle-class families. Containing both linear and curved elements of traditional Chinese window screen design, but showing a different scale because of being executed in riveted iron and not wood, this grille is typically Shanghainese of the 1930s. The symmetry of the design delights the eye, which is drawn to the centre rectangle panel that may have originally been a space for a name or house number. These houses and those of the surrounding streets are home to many of today’s Chinese power elite. Thus high-rise developments and road enlargements that have punctured much of Shanghai’s urban landscape will not likely come to this area. It will remain a green oasis of plane trees snuggled between busy shopping and commercial centers.