Shanghai Club
The Shanghai Club was originally built in 1861 by the British. This original design consists of a three storied neoclassical style building made of brick. It was torn down and rebuilt in 1910, by a British architect named BH Tarrand. This new design was a six story building, built in a neo-classical style with touches of English Renaissance and Baroque components. The building was also built was built by Chinese workers with Chinese material and consist of many foreign countries architectural designs and influences. (what does the (re)built from one to another indicate: we need to make an argument here)
The exterior features of the building consist of 6 Suzhou columns on the facade, 3 horizontal divisions by strong bands similar to columns, pedimented windows, carved floral swags, and two Indo-Sarecenic style turrets on the corners of the building. The buildings exterior features are a mixture of many different styles that originated in many different countries. There are the Indo-Sarenic turrets which represent India’s influence over British architecture and in turn architecture in Shanghai built by the British. There is also the Greek columns made out of Suzhou, which is a material only found in China representing Chinese influence on the architecture. There were also other Chinese materials used and many other elements of Italian, French, Dutch, and Indian design. The blend of these elements and styles into this one building is symbolic of the foreign influence on Shanghai during this time period and even today. (make the claim at the beginning of the paragraph and serve as leading idea. then explain how each architectural transition participates in the identity making of the bund)
The interior was designed by a Japenese architect named Shimoda Kikutaro, which in itself is another symbol of how Japenese concession of Shanghai, and later the Japenese occupation of Shanghai influenced Shanghai architecture and art. The interior consists of a grand hall, class ceilings held up by 17 foot high Ionic columns, news room, billiards rooms, 40 bedrooms, barber shops, multiple dining halls, marble floors, a library with more books than the Shanghai library at the time, and the most famous feature, the long bar. The long bar was at one point the world’s longest bar and within the bar itself there was a hierarchical structure. The end closer to the bund was reserved for the wealthiest and most elite men in the world, the farther away from that end one sat, the less wealthy and elite he was. The hierarchy inside the club is ironic because even within the most elite in the world there was a hierarchy. While the members inside of the club were experience a minor sense of hierarchy, outside the club the local Chinese were dealing with a huge amount of hierarchical bias and discrimination. In fact, no Chinese were allowed in the club unless they were servants and many of the Chinese were not even allowed in entire foreign concessions. (again highlight the issue of hierarchy at the beginning of the paragraph, then use architectural evidence to support the argument)
Throughout its history the building has been used for many different things. It functioned as the Shanghai Club until the Japenese occupation of Shanghai in World War II. At that time it is unknown what it was used for. Then, once the communist party took over in 1949, it was repurposed into an international seamen’s house for foreign sailors. After that, in 1971, it was turned into the Shanghai Dongfeng hotel but saw little success and was turned into China’s first KFC in 1990 (what does the transition speak for). Now, it is apart of the Hilton Hotel group and is called the Waldorf-Astoria, many of its historical elements, including the long bar have been brought back and renovated. The history of how the building itself has been used is also representative of the foreign influences of Shanghai over time, most noticeably, the KFC and the Waldorf-Astoria. The KFC is a direct result of foreign, in this case American influence, on Shanghai culture and buildings. This historic building, which was originally built by foreigners, was now being used for commercial profit by another foreign company. The KFC was very expensive and a big deal to many people in China and allowed the spread of certain elements of American/Western culture to spread within China.. Similarly, with the Waldorf-Astoria, the building is now owned by another foreign power and being used for profit and mostly by foreigners. Not many locals stay in this hotel or use its services. (reorganize these material and allow them to support your claim)
The architecture of the original building and the buildings history and purposes are symbolic of foreign influence on Shanghai. The architectural elements were a mixture of many foreign countries and this was representative of how many different foreign countries influenced not just the Shanghai club but (the treaty port culture in Shanghai in general) many other buildings architecture features in Shanghai. The different purposes of the building throughout time is symbolic of how foreign countries have used the building for its own personal or commercial gain while spreading its own influence in culture throughout Shanghai.