Bank of China - Shanghai - 1941
Cnr The Bund & Jinkee Rd, Shanghai.
Established in 1912, the Bank of China competed with other local banks in its quest to be China’s central bank. The 1920s and 1930s presented many difficulties and the Great Depression, the continued civil wars in China and the threat of Communism all contributed to the Bank's mixed fortunes during those early decades. In 1935, the Nationalist Government took over the bank and embarked on a modernisation program with a patriotic (and no doubt political) fervour. The design and construction of this flagship bank building was to embody the confidence and modernity of the bank but also emphasise its Chinese characteristics.
Built on the Bund on a prominent site previously occupied by the German Club Concordia, the brief by the Bank Chairman (and Finance Minister) to architects Tug Wilson and Luke Him Sau (aka Lu Qian Shou) of Palmer & Turner was to built the tallest building in the city. Whilst this was not achieved due to opposition from Sir Victor Sassoon, the owner of its immediate neighbour Sassoon House (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/6329160654 ), the building is a timeless masterpiece of Modernist design incorporating Chinese ornamental motifs; carved stonework, patterned windows and curved roof. It was to become the prototype for subsequent Bank of China building designs in Hong Kong (1950) and Singapore (1954). Lu Qian Shou was trained in the UK and was one of the first Chinese architects to gain membership in RIBA.
Bank of China - Shanghai - 1941
Cnr The Bund & Jinkee Rd, Shanghai.
Established in 1912, the Bank of China competed with other local banks in its quest to be China’s central bank. The 1920s and 1930s presented many difficulties and the Great Depression, the continued civil wars in China and the threat of Communism all contributed to the Bank's mixed fortunes during those early decades. In 1935, the Nationalist Government took over the bank and embarked on a modernisation program with a patriotic (and no doubt political) fervour. The design and construction of this flagship bank building was to embody the confidence and modernity of the bank but also emphasise its Chinese characteristics.
Built on the Bund on a prominent site previously occupied by the German Club Concordia, the brief by the Bank Chairman (and Finance Minister) to architects Tug Wilson and Luke Him Sau (aka Lu Qian Shou) of Palmer & Turner was to built the tallest building in the city. Whilst this was not achieved due to opposition from Sir Victor Sassoon, the owner of its immediate neighbour Sassoon House (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/6329160654 ), the building is a timeless masterpiece of Modernist design incorporating Chinese ornamental motifs; carved stonework, patterned windows and curved roof. It was to become the prototype for subsequent Bank of China building designs in Hong Kong (1950) and Singapore (1954). Lu Qian Shou was trained in the UK and was one of the first Chinese architects to gain membership in RIBA.