Soho

The SOHO buildings, in Shanghai

The SOHO buildings are futuristic creations of glass and steel signed by the SOHO China group, one of the most emblematic real estate developers of the country. The Shanghai audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this avant-garde architecture, founded on the idea of living and working in a same space, that has transformed the face of the metropolis.

The avant-garde architecture of the Smart Office

In front of you, the futuristic lines and the sculpted volumes of glass and steel are not simple buildings: they are creations of the SOHO China group, one of the most emblematic real estate developers of the country. Founded in 1995 by Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, this company has profoundly transformed the face of Shanghai by implanting there an avant-garde architecture mingling aesthetics, technology and functionality. The name SOHO means Smart Office, Home Office, a concept born from a simple idea: living and working in the same space. It is this vision of a fluid urban way of life, without a clear boundary between office and home, that gave birth to spectacular buildings like the SOHO Fuxing Plaza, very close to Xintiandi, or the Sky SOHO, whose curves evoke the movement of high-speed trains. To design these ensembles, the group called on great names of international architecture, among which the agency of Zaha Hadid, famous for her fluid and organic forms. The result is a series of buildings recognisable among all, with undulating façades and vertiginous atriums, become landmarks of the contemporary town. A symbol of the real estate rise and of the architectural creativity of Shanghai, SOHO illustrates the way in which the metropolis reinvents itself ceaselessly. Futuristic architecture and a new urban way of life, the SOHO buildings are a fine stop of the discovery of Shanghai.

What to see

You admire the futuristic glass and steel buildings of the SOHO China group, founded in 1995 by Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, whose name Smart Office Home Office translates the idea of living and working in a same space; with undulating façades and vertiginous atriums, designed with great architects like the Zaha Hadid agency, they count among the landmarks of the contemporary town. The SOHO buildings illustrate the Shanghai that reinvents itself. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The SOHO buildings are at several points of Shanghai, notably near Xintiandi for the SOHO Fuxing Plaza, reachable on foot and by metro. They are office and commercial buildings whose architecture you admire from the street; some commercial spaces are accessible according to their conditions. You discover them during a walk in the town.

What does SOHO mean, in Shanghai?

Smart Office, Home Office: a concept born from the idea of living and working in the same space, carried by the SOHO China group founded in 1995 by Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin; it gave birth to futuristic glass and steel buildings, with undulating façades, like the SOHO Fuxing Plaza or the Sky SOHO, designed with great architects including the Zaha Hadid agency.

Where to see the SOHO buildings in Shanghai?

At several points of Shanghai, notably near Xintiandi for the SOHO Fuxing Plaza, in China.