Sassoon building

Shaxun building is one of the landmarks of Shanghai. It was once known as "the first building in the Far East". Its 19 meter high dark green pyramid shaped copper roof is a prominent symbol of the Bund, and it is also the first building with granite external wall. Shaxun building was built in 1926 and was once a Chinachem hotel. In 1956, it was opened as a peace hotel and has been open to the public since.

Sassoon building

Sasson house is a 10 storey building (partial 13 storeys) built by Chinachem Real Estate Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of British capital new Sasson foreign company, with an investment of 2.4 million yuan at No. 20 (Nanjing intersection) on the Bund of Shanghai, with a total height of 77 meters. It is the tallest building on the Bund, with a construction area of 36317 square meters.

brief introduction

origin

Sasson house is a 10 storey building (partial 13 storeys) built by Chinachem Real Estate Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of British capital new Sasson foreign company, with an investment of 2.4 million yuan at No. 20 (Nanjing intersection) on the Bund of Shanghai, with a total height of 77 meters. It is the tallest building on the Bund, with a construction area of 36317 square meters. In 1872, Elias Sassoon, a British Jew, founded the new Sassoon company in Mumbai. In 1877, he came to Shanghai to set up a branch and bought the real estate (11 Mu and 7 Fen) of qiongji, an American businessman on the 20th Bund. The old house was demolished in April 1926, and the new building was completed on September 5, 1929. The architectural style of the building belongs to art deco. Its 19 meter high dark green pyramid shaped copper roof has become another prominent symbol of the Bund for many years. The designer is the famous Palmer Turner architects and surveyors. Cathay Hotel, the top luxury hotel in Shanghai at that time, was opened in the West Hall on the ground floor and 4-9 floors, with 9 national style rooms. The East Hall on the ground floor is rented to ABN AMRO and Huabi bank, and the top floor is Shaxun's own luxury residence.

Now?

After the Anti Japanese War, the building was acquired by Kong Xiangxi's Shanxi Yuhua bank. In 1952, the Shanghai municipal government took over the building. It was opened as peace hotel in 1956. After the merger of the former palace hotel on the 19th Bund in 1965, it was called the North Building (Bund 20) and the South Building (Bund 19) of the Peace Hotel respectively. In 1992, the world hotel organization listed the peace hotel as a world famous hotel.

history

Start to build

In 1872, Elias Sassoon, a British Jew, founded the new Sassoon company in Mumbai.

In 1877, he set up a branch in Shanghai and bought the real estate (11 Mu and 7 Fen) of qiongji, an American businessman on the 20th Bund.

In 1926, the old house was demolished in April, and the new building was completed on September 5, 1929.

The architectural style of the building belongs to art deco. Its 19 meter high dark green pyramid shaped copper roof has become another prominent symbol of the Bund for many years. The designer is the famous Palmer Turner architects and surveyors. Cathay Hotel, the top luxury hotel in Shanghai at that time, was opened in the West Hall on the ground floor and 4-9 floors, with 9 national style rooms. The East Hall on the ground floor is rented to ABN AMRO and Huabi bank, and the top floor is Shaxun's own luxury residence.

development

In 1941, after the outbreak of the Pacific War, Shaxun's real estate in Shanghai was confiscated by the puppets as enemy property. After the defeat of the Japanese army, Victor Shaxun gradually recovered his property, but the golden age of his business was over, so he decided to withdraw his money and gradually sent it overseas.

After the liberation of Shanghai in 1949, Shaxun foreign company was unable to make ends meet. After the coordination of Shanghai municipal government, it agreed to use Shaxun building as an asset to repay the land tax, management fee, water and electricity fee, staff wages and so on.

In 1952, the Shanghai municipal government took over the building.

In 1956, it was opened as a peace hotel and has been open to the public ever since.

In 1965, after the merger of the former palace hotel on the 19th Bund, it was called the North Building (Bund 20) and the South Building (Bund 19) of the Peace Hotel respectively.

In 1992, the world hotel organization listed the peace hotel as a world famous hotel.

geographical position

It is located at No. 20, Zhongshan East 1st Road, Bund. It was built in the 15-17 years of the Republic of China. It was built on the site of the 5-story western style house of new Sassoon. After completion, it was named Shaxun building (now the North Building of Peace Hotel). It is one of the excellent buildings in the Bund building group in modern times, which was built by xinrenji building factory.

Design

Shaxun building is designed by Gonghe foreign company and constructed by Chinese businessman xinrenji construction factory. Reinforced concrete frame structure. It covers an area of 4617 square meters and a construction area of 36317 square meters. The building is 10 storeys high, with 13 storeys in some parts, and a basement. The height from the ground to the top is 77 meters. It was the tallest building in Shanghai at that time. The facade is dominated by vertical lines, with carved patterns at the waist line and cornice. Except for the ninth floor and the top of the external wall with Taishan stone tiles, the rest of the layers are covered with granite.

On the top of the East facade of the building, there is a dark green corrugated copper roof, which looks like a pyramid. The slope is very steep and the height is about 10 meters. At that time, the rooms on the ground floor near the Bund were rented to ABN AMRO and Huabi bank, and the rest were the lobby of Chinachem hotel. There are two cross passages in the lobby, one from the Bund and the other from Nanjing Road to Dianchi Road. At the middle intersection, there is an octagonal pavilion style inner hall, and its dome is inlaid with stained glass.

The second to fourth floors of the building are office rooms, which are rented to foreign firms, import and export firms, international radio, etc. Sassoon and some of its subsidiaries work on the fourth floor. The 5th to 7th floors are the guest rooms of Chinachem Hotel, and their design is quite unique: the 5th floor has German style, Indian style, Japanese style and Spanish style guest rooms; the 6th floor has American style, French style and Italian style guest rooms; the 7th floor has Chinese style and British style guest rooms. On the 8th floor, there are big bars, dance halls and Chinese style restaurants; on the 9th floor, there are night meeting and small restaurants; on the 10th floor, there are Victor shawson's English style residence, which is exquisite and luxurious; in the pyramid room, there are big restaurants.

Architectural features

In the West in 1929, art deco architecture was just emerging. Shaxun building was a popular design method of Chicago School in the United States at that time. From the shape, composition, to decorative details, have been greatly simplified. The dark green square cone with the top of 19 meters is the historical turning point of the Bund architecture, which marks the change of the Bund from neoclassicism to art deco.

The building covers an area of 4622 square meters, with a construction area of 36317 square meters. The plane of the building is A-shaped. It is designed by British business and foreign company, and constructed by xinrenji construction factory. The steel materials used in the steel frame structure are all produced by London daomen steel works. When lifting steel members, construction workers stand on the steel frame and risk to lift them together, and then send them to the installation node for work. The building has an elevation of 77m, 13 floors above ground and 1 floor underground. In addition to the Taishan stone facing brick on the 9th floor and the top floor of the outer wall, the rest are all built with granite. This is the first building with granite as the outer wall facing on the Bund. The facade is treated with vertical lines, and the lines are simple and clear. The waist line and eaves are decorated with pattern carvings, which fully shows the popular "Chicago School" design method in the United States. The main facade of the building is to the East. On the top of the main house stands a 19 meter high corrugated copper roof, which shows the transition from eclecticism to modern architecture.

The top floor of the building is for the owners and hotel managers to live. The interior decoration is British style, and the layout is very exquisite. The dining room is equipped with a small movie screen; the 9th floor is equipped with a nightclub restaurant; the 8th floor is equipped with a Chinese restaurant, a big bar and a dance hall; the 7th floor is equipped with Chinese and British houses; the 6th floor is equipped with French, Italian and British houses; the 5th floor is equipped with German and Indian houses The fourth floor is hotel. The interior decoration and furniture of the above houses are arranged according to the habits and requirements of various countries, so as to show the luxury of the building and cater to the different tastes and curiosity of tourists, which is rare in other large hotels. The third floor is used by Sassoon. The second floor and the ground floor are rented out by offices, and then used as places for reception, meeting and other activities. There are entrances and exits on the East, South and north sides of the building. The main entrance is facing Nanjing Road.

Shaxun building is the last building built on the Bund in the 1920s, and it is also the first skyscraper in Shanghai to break through 10 floors in a real sense. Although its main part is 9 stories, the eastern tower near the Bund is 12 stories high. The most striking thing is that there is a pyramid shaped roof with a height of 19 meters above the tower. It was specially built under the influence of the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun in Egypt in 1922, so the height of the whole building has reached 77 meters. It also boasts the most luxurious Chinachem hotel in the Far East, so some important international conferences are held here.

Sassoon family

The Shaxun family flourished in opium trade and succeeded in real estate management. A lot of stories about Sassoon and Sassoon spread in old Shanghai

Chinese PinYin : Sha Xun Da Sha