Your Guide to Creative China
Project Shanghai: CHAI Living
Published November 27, 2009
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When the Embankment Building was first constructed by Palmer and Turner in 1932, it was famed for its style and size. At almost a quarter of a mile long, this Streamline Art Deco structure was the largest apartment building in the Far East, with wide balconies, eight elevators, an servants' quarters for most apartments. Today, it is rather dilapidated. Except in 20 serviced residences and studios renovated by Tucho Iglesias, founder of CHAI Living.
How did you end up becoming a designer in Shanghai?
When traveling around Asia as a lawyer, I discovered basically every single hotel in Asia. Every night was in a five star, in the beginning. But after a while, you realize it's not really about spending, it's more about really finding interesting places. I learned a lot about interior design by comparing -- how did they light all the places, what materials did they use, how different were the styles in all these different countries. It was, for me, more like university. I think I was very, very lucky that I had that opportunity.
Why did you decide to restore and rent rooms in this particular building?
I wanted to prepare some rooms for family to stay in when they visit, in some studios, and then I thought, well, when they're not here, we can rent them out and offer them to people who are in the same situation I was in: coming to Asia, and they don't want to stay in a hotel, they want to feel more like a resident, not as a tourist.
What's the history of the Embankment Building?
The owner of this building was Victor Sassoon - the same as the Peace Hotel and Hamilton House. He was one of the most successful businessmen in the 1930's. Actually, the Embankment Building was built for his employees of the other two companies, for the, let's say, management level.
The people who were living here were of many nationalities. Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese. There were a lot of foreigners. It was very interesting to see this. Sassoon thought this location was perfect because it was in front of the creek, and it was very open, you know, and it was facing south.
What happened to the building during the Communist era?
In 1949, the Communists took over, and then the building was divided. It was given to government, people from the party, and according to the level of the rank, they get different heights and different units, some of them have different sizes. The oldest resident -- she's still here -- she moved in in 1951. And then the eighth, ninth and tenth floors were added in the 80's. The original building was seven stories.
The big apartments, in 1949, were divided into 3 and there were 3 families living in them. And then at the beginning of 2000, that was the first time that foreigner moved in again. I came in 2005. I bought three families' rooms.
When did you begin renovations?
The first one I started with is my home. The others started later, a year and a half ago and then we only had two. Now we have ten done. And the total will be 20 when all complete.
Is the project restorative, or modernizing?
My mission is to build an oasis in Shanghai -- a place where you feel you are in local Shanghai, but at the same time you are -- you have the guarantee that everything's going to work properly and we have a high living standard.
I put myself in the visitors' shoes, and I said, you know, there are many authentic places but they are not really comfortable. You don't want to go into a place that's very authentic, but nothing works! You know, if it's not clean enough, the internet doesn't work, or the bed is uncomfortable, etc. So I had to balance those two things.
Did you take inspiration from other buildings, designers, movements...?
All the rooms are inspired by culture. Of course, I'm very concerned about aesthetics and colors -- but they have to be meaningful. So every studio has something that inspired me about Chinese culture. From the red silk, porcelain, jade, ink (black ink), calligraphy, tea -- I love tea! So each room started with an idea, something I like about China, and then I designed around that.
Where did you find all the furniture, art, etc.?
We designed everything ourselves. There's not one thing here bought in any shop. Either designed by us, or produced by us and designed by somebody we know. We are also cooperating with artists. These sculptures there, are from Art + Shanghai. We're cooperating with them, and they're bringing in a lot of art for us in the coming weeks.
Have you tried to leave some Art Deco finishes?
It's just small features, like the handles of the door, the design of the door, the main entrance, sometimes the windows of the bedrooms and the bathrooms, some mirrors, etc.
What are some of CHAI's special features?
Storage boxes covered in horsehair from Mongolia, goosefeather sofas, the finest Thai silk, white brass sink with handpainting…we also have floor heating in every room, central air con, wifi, satellite tv. Each room has a kitchen. There's lots of storage space, hidden washer and dryer, views of the river, dressing rooms, my favorite fine Pu'er tea awaiting guests in the kitchen…
When did it open to general public?
At the beginning of the year.
How would you describe the experience of living in the Embankment Building?
It's Shanghainese from the moment you walk in the building, you go up with them in the lift, you can see how they're dressed, what they're carrying. At seven in the morning, they do Tai Chi downstairs in the entrance. There's calligraphy classes. And then once you get into your room, have a lot of flavor of culture, but in a very refined way. It's all very well thought out.
For example, we have DVDS, and all the movies we choose are all related to China somehow. Magazines, books, they're all related to China somehow. Because, I feel, you're in China, you want to get as much as you can from that. We also do recommendation lists, every week, with the best massage, the best place to drink, discover this, discover this.
Why are the rooms called "residences"? Is this only for long-term visitors?
There is only a two-night stay minimum, but we don't run ourselves like a hotel. It's more a community. We have Lee, who is really important. He lives in the building so he can help at any time. We also have the housekeeping, but they don't speak English. Lee speaks five languages -- Spanish, French, English -- he can communicate so well. People appreciate that a lot.
Is this the first place you've designed in Shanghai?
Yes, the this is the first -- hopefully not the last.
What were the biggest challenges to renovation?
We had to knock out some walls, deal with pillars, sort things out with the neighbors. We redid the windows and got rid of the balconies. The entrance area is exposed brick with what used to be a small kitchen, now reception area.
We don’t use any toxic lacquers. We are VOC free. We have to do a lot of going back and forth, before we get it right. It takes so long. And then we left some concrete areas exposed, on these ceiling beams and some bricks. I prefer to have it like this because it's a nice contrast.
What part of the renovation and designing process was most rewarding?
That feeling of conquering, when you finally find some rare thing, like my parents did as collectors. It's that feelign of discovering something that was there but nobody could see it, and then you find it, and you are able to expose it.
One of our visitors said "I love this place and the thing that I love the most is I don't see anything that I've ever seen in a any magazine." For me that was the biggest compliment.
For more information on CHAI Living, visit their website or email the team at: shanghai@chailiving.com.
How did you end up becoming a designer in Shanghai?
When traveling around Asia as a lawyer, I discovered basically every single hotel in Asia. Every night was in a five star, in the beginning. But after a while, you realize it's not really about spending, it's more about really finding interesting places. I learned a lot about interior design by comparing -- how did they light all the places, what materials did they use, how different were the styles in all these different countries. It was, for me, more like university. I think I was very, very lucky that I had that opportunity.
Why did you decide to restore and rent rooms in this particular building?
I wanted to prepare some rooms for family to stay in when they visit, in some studios, and then I thought, well, when they're not here, we can rent them out and offer them to people who are in the same situation I was in: coming to Asia, and they don't want to stay in a hotel, they want to feel more like a resident, not as a tourist.
What's the history of the Embankment Building?
The owner of this building was Victor Sassoon - the same as the Peace Hotel and Hamilton House. He was one of the most successful businessmen in the 1930's. Actually, the Embankment Building was built for his employees of the other two companies, for the, let's say, management level.
The people who were living here were of many nationalities. Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese. There were a lot of foreigners. It was very interesting to see this. Sassoon thought this location was perfect because it was in front of the creek, and it was very open, you know, and it was facing south.
What happened to the building during the Communist era?
In 1949, the Communists took over, and then the building was divided. It was given to government, people from the party, and according to the level of the rank, they get different heights and different units, some of them have different sizes. The oldest resident -- she's still here -- she moved in in 1951. And then the eighth, ninth and tenth floors were added in the 80's. The original building was seven stories.
The big apartments, in 1949, were divided into 3 and there were 3 families living in them. And then at the beginning of 2000, that was the first time that foreigner moved in again. I came in 2005. I bought three families' rooms.
When did you begin renovations?
The first one I started with is my home. The others started later, a year and a half ago and then we only had two. Now we have ten done. And the total will be 20 when all complete.
Is the project restorative, or modernizing?
My mission is to build an oasis in Shanghai -- a place where you feel you are in local Shanghai, but at the same time you are -- you have the guarantee that everything's going to work properly and we have a high living standard.
I put myself in the visitors' shoes, and I said, you know, there are many authentic places but they are not really comfortable. You don't want to go into a place that's very authentic, but nothing works! You know, if it's not clean enough, the internet doesn't work, or the bed is uncomfortable, etc. So I had to balance those two things.
Did you take inspiration from other buildings, designers, movements...?
All the rooms are inspired by culture. Of course, I'm very concerned about aesthetics and colors -- but they have to be meaningful. So every studio has something that inspired me about Chinese culture. From the red silk, porcelain, jade, ink (black ink), calligraphy, tea -- I love tea! So each room started with an idea, something I like about China, and then I designed around that.
Where did you find all the furniture, art, etc.?
We designed everything ourselves. There's not one thing here bought in any shop. Either designed by us, or produced by us and designed by somebody we know. We are also cooperating with artists. These sculptures there, are from Art + Shanghai. We're cooperating with them, and they're bringing in a lot of art for us in the coming weeks.
Have you tried to leave some Art Deco finishes?
It's just small features, like the handles of the door, the design of the door, the main entrance, sometimes the windows of the bedrooms and the bathrooms, some mirrors, etc.
What are some of CHAI's special features?
Storage boxes covered in horsehair from Mongolia, goosefeather sofas, the finest Thai silk, white brass sink with handpainting…we also have floor heating in every room, central air con, wifi, satellite tv. Each room has a kitchen. There's lots of storage space, hidden washer and dryer, views of the river, dressing rooms, my favorite fine Pu'er tea awaiting guests in the kitchen…
When did it open to general public?
At the beginning of the year.
How would you describe the experience of living in the Embankment Building?
It's Shanghainese from the moment you walk in the building, you go up with them in the lift, you can see how they're dressed, what they're carrying. At seven in the morning, they do Tai Chi downstairs in the entrance. There's calligraphy classes. And then once you get into your room, have a lot of flavor of culture, but in a very refined way. It's all very well thought out.
For example, we have DVDS, and all the movies we choose are all related to China somehow. Magazines, books, they're all related to China somehow. Because, I feel, you're in China, you want to get as much as you can from that. We also do recommendation lists, every week, with the best massage, the best place to drink, discover this, discover this.
Why are the rooms called "residences"? Is this only for long-term visitors?
There is only a two-night stay minimum, but we don't run ourselves like a hotel. It's more a community. We have Lee, who is really important. He lives in the building so he can help at any time. We also have the housekeeping, but they don't speak English. Lee speaks five languages -- Spanish, French, English -- he can communicate so well. People appreciate that a lot.
Is this the first place you've designed in Shanghai?
Yes, the this is the first -- hopefully not the last.
What were the biggest challenges to renovation?
We had to knock out some walls, deal with pillars, sort things out with the neighbors. We redid the windows and got rid of the balconies. The entrance area is exposed brick with what used to be a small kitchen, now reception area.
We don’t use any toxic lacquers. We are VOC free. We have to do a lot of going back and forth, before we get it right. It takes so long. And then we left some concrete areas exposed, on these ceiling beams and some bricks. I prefer to have it like this because it's a nice contrast.
What part of the renovation and designing process was most rewarding?
That feeling of conquering, when you finally find some rare thing, like my parents did as collectors. It's that feelign of discovering something that was there but nobody could see it, and then you find it, and you are able to expose it.
One of our visitors said "I love this place and the thing that I love the most is I don't see anything that I've ever seen in a any magazine." For me that was the biggest compliment.
For more information on CHAI Living, visit their website or email the team at: shanghai@chailiving.com.
