Shanghai Classics Take on New Silhouettes at The Middle House

Italian visionary Piero Lissoni blended a local twist to his modernist aesthetic at The Middle House, the fourth property from Swire Hotels’ The House Collective, opened at the end of 2017. The hotel’s exterior façade features a series of round aluminum louvers, which provide privacy for the guest rooms while distinguishing the hotel’s two towers from surrounding developments. For the interior spaces, Lissoni adopts subtle yet impactful combinations of bold lines, materials and colours, enhanced by Shanghai’s culture of art and craftsmanship. Complemented by generous windows affording ample views of the city, transparent room dividers serve to brighten up the inner space. Backlit walls and glazed screens are also used to lighten the otherwise secluded bathroom areas. For the spacious serviced apartments, Lissoni created sliding wood panels finely carved with traditional Chinese design elements to facilitate a flexible living space.