PART 01
Designer Pop-Up Tour

Recently, the urbanDATA team was invited by organizers to participate in the 2019 Shanghai Urban Space Art Season's Master Forum. During the "Designer Pop-Up Tour" segment, urbanDATA designers behind the riverside project stepped out from behind the scenes to engage with the public, unraveling the history of the century-old shipyard and sharing design stories. Citizens experienced a unique "encounter" with the designers along Yangpu Riverside!

The urbanDATA team guided visitors through iconic sites of the 2019 Shanghai Urban Space Art Season, including:

  • The Dry Dock Gates
  • Generator Café
  • Century-Old Ship Slipway
  • Welding Plaza

A century of glorious industrial civilization—long-dormant ship slipways, once the largest dry dock in the Far East, and distinctive terminal operating area—now finds new life in spatial transformations. These sites have been reimagined as urban art hubs and creative leisure spaces, adding vibrant colors to Huangpu Riverside.

Ship Slipway Plaza

"Setting Sail, Riding the Waves"

A ship's bow sculpture soars skyward, as if charging toward the horizon. Beneath visitors' feet, under tempered glass, lies a ship slipwaydormant for a century. Discovered during 2017 construction, this relic holds significant historical value for the Huangpu waterfront's shipbuilding evolution. After consulting shipyard archives and workers, the urbanDATA team preserved the slipway. Standing on custom anti-slip glass, visitors glimpse historical traces while feeling the momentum of sailing toward the future.

Dry Dock Gate

This section of dock ruins is an "open-air gallery in motion." The passage connecting to the yacht marina serves as a pivotal transition point along the waterfront. Glass partitions separate river from shore yet bridge nature and culture, making the riverside narrative fluid.

Once a decaying dock channel, its rusted iron gates—weathered by a century of river tides—stood as symbols of desolation. The designers replaced traditional railings with stitched-glass barriers, ensuring safety while inviting intimacy with the river. Sleeper wood paths, gravel, and corten steel grids preserve industrial heritage; panoramic views of skyline and water inspire awe.

Generator Café

Yangpu Riverside's (viral) Generator Café blends unique aesthetics with storytelling. The two-story structure, once a derelict shipyard power auxiliary building, now houses preserved generators reimagined as a thematic café. Terraced platforms and rooftop spaces create layered public experiences.

Behind floor-to-ceiling windows, visitors sip coffee beside 80-year-old generators that witnessed China's shipbuilding history. Raw concrete walls, steel staircases, and wire-mesh railings echo industrial soul. Aluminum-framed windows frame real-time views of the Huangpu River—from sunrise to city lights—offering serenity with every cup.

PART 02
Master Forum

The second half unfolded at the "Fishing Goods Pergola" in Oriental Fisherman's Wharf. Design teams behind Yangpu Riverside's 5.5km waterfront reunited under the theme "Encounter: Century-Old Riverside Meets Contemporary Design," revisiting the stories behind the transformation.

Yangpu Riverside's southern section bears witness to China's shipbuilding legacy. As the river flows, its industrial relics whisper tales of a glorious past—now reawakened through design to face an open future.