1933: From slaughterhouse to lifestyle house

I've been to 1933 twice. First time in September 07 during the last weeks of the renovation, and second time this past Saturday for the Shanghai International Creative Industry Week (SICIW) show.

Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meckleychina/sets/72157602056023299/

A few comments.

1) Definitely a very cool space both architecturally and historically.

2) 1933 is just 5 to 10 minutes walk from Metro Line 4 Hailun Rd stop. That's how I've arrived both times.

3) Did anyone else who stopped by the Dutch Design Expo at SICIW ponder the relationship between their ubiquitous orange-white cow logo and the former life of this building as a slaughter house? A statement? A gruesome coincidence since Holland is known for its cheese (the logo is a milk cow). Full disclosure: I'm an ovo-lactovegetarian.

-john

I coincidentally visited the place today and liked it a lot (I put some pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chijs/sets/72157603221509864/).

It is great for hosting events, especially internet or creative industry related. Not sure how high the rent is, but I certainly could imagine setting up an office here for an internet related company. I love the building, it's among the coolest I have seen in China.

Main problem is transportation for staff, I don't think there is a metro line close by (yet). Another thing I am not too sure about is whether the fact that this is a former slaughterhouse could be an issue to recruit and retain staff.

The trouble with such projects, including Pier One, this one, ambitious & expensive projects along the Bund is, that the clientel required to fill such venues is simply not there.

Just like in Hong Kong, New York, London, et al, the entrepreneurs opening expensive outlets/restaurants/lifestyle places need a certain degree of high-spending young Harvard investment-banker style clients to generate the income needed.

Such clients do not exist here. In a country, that applies severe restrictions on the flow of foreign currency, simple property transactions take months - if not years - to complete, merger & acquisition and trade in shares and financial instruments is tied to unfair privilege, there is no place for U.S. style trading and banking.

Hence, no high flyers here, but a foreign population of ca. 250,000, a middle-class whose salaries does not grow as fast as the number and prices of places to spend the money in. Spending potential of a Californian dot.com settlement, at most.

Tourists? Look at Xintiandi: they came, saw and left, and did not buy anything.

Chinese? This generation of rich Chinese is largely resistant to any attempt of separating them from their hard earned money other than by global brand attacks. The next generation, may be.

There is enough money around to finance such large projects, but there ain't enough money to generate income for these places.

Tragic, but any large project that uses a better than mediocre product to target a higher than middle-class customer is bound for failure in China.

This add at the top left seems targeted to the same type of person. Shanghaiist readers?

It's a cool space, but it might be tricky to convince even "creative" companies that they want to have offices there because of the irregular interior spaces, i.e. one room with a floor clearly designed for sluicing. If they can find tenants that want to pay top rent for East B.F. location, it might end up being more than just another Pier 1. My impression was that the people involved could benefit by being a little less pretentious, but this is probably the key to attracting the right people.

Judging by the number of such developments, there must be a lot of deep-pocketed, creative people in Shanghai. Who knew?