citizenM has landed in one of the most up-and-coming business areas of Shanghai, Hongqiao, in the Minhang District. Dutch studio Concrete has designed the interior of the freshly built 303-room citizenM hotel. citizenM is part of a larger area development at the Ziteng road metro station where offices, hotel and the MixC shopping mall are being built. The project is located in the west part of Shanghai between the Middle and Outer ring road near the Gubei district also known as Koreatown.
The design for the public space is a destination in itself in order to be the place to hang out for hotel guest and the users of surrounding offices alike. It’s meant to be, in addition to the usual lively lobby for our guests, a place for all participants of the new area. A large societyM on the first floor makes the hotel a place for people to sit down and work.
The public space has two entrances; a formal and an informal entrance. The formal entrance is linked to the drop-off for cabs. After entry, you step into the world of citizenM with the typical cabinets filled with colorful styling and art. Above the check-in, there is a big light-giving dragon floating over your head. From this point, the heart of the hotel, you have an overview of everything that citizen has to offer: collectionM, an iconic staircase that takes you to the societyM, the living rooms and the centrally located bar.
The informal entrance is at the head of the public space with an adjoining terrace and an art wall continuing from the outside to the inside. Specially selected art pieces add color and energy to the whole space, while also giving an international platform to Chinese artists such as Mojo Wang, Bu Hua, Y0un9bug, QianJiu, Ke XiaoQin, and ChenChen. The terrace forms the connection with the indoor space in which ping-pong tables, a swing bench and seats draw the liveliness of citizenM from the inside to the outside.
The bar is the heart of the public space. The adjacent iconic sofa has a koi carp carpet as if you are sitting in a Chinese pond. There are two courtyards on eithers sides of the bar that provide daylight to the internally located rooms and the public space on the ground floor.
The courtyard is a closed off place with the red tree benches, furniture and lanterns that are now characteristic of citizenM. The beginning and end of the public space are clearly visible as they are marked by colorful art wall that runs through the entire length of the space, the wall includes the canteen.
The iconic stairs take you from the ground floor to societyM on the 1st floor. This space includes 7 meeting rooms and a breakout area. The corridor surrounding the meeting rooms adjoins the internal courtyard and an external terrace that has a view of the terrace and the lobby on the ground floor.
citizenM Shanghai Hongqiao is the 15th hotel in a noteworthy line-up of locations in nine of the world’s major business and leisure destinations, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, and New York. Further Asian developments are in the works, with a brand new location in Kuala Lumpur next on the opening list.
