rest in the city

Alila Shanghai abstracts elements of vernacular architecture and resolves technical challenges to conceive a restorative oasis in the city centre.

- Text by Luo Jingmei Photos by Alila Shanghai

Shanghai’s Jing’an district is in the heart of the Chinese city. It is entirely cosmopolitan and urban – a matrix of skyscrapers, shopping malls, preserved Shikumen (traditional townhouses) and bustling roads. In this context, how would one conceive an ‘urban retreat’ offering respite like resorts in nature-abundant settings? This was the challenge of Alila Shanghai that opened in September 2024, designed by Ju Bin, the founder and chief design director of Shenzhen- and Beijing-based firm, Horizontal Design.

To add to the complexity, the 186-key hotel was housed in the former Four Seasons Shanghai within a 37-storey mixed-use building that also contains retail and workspaces. “This necessitated a rethink of the hotel's overall entrance and exit relationships,” says Liu Shengnan, a partner and design director from Horizontal Design that worked on the hotel - Alila's first big-city property in China and a member of Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

The intensive renovation took four years. The Alila journey starts at the ground-storey driveway, with guests taking the lift to the fourth-storey reception. Guestrooms are located between the 12th and 17th storey, and 27th to 39th storey, and F&B concepts distributed between storeys four and five including an indoor swimming pool and organic vegetable garden on the latter.