Artyzen New Bund 31, Shanghai
Contemporary Chinese Design Meets Garden Serenity
Why DNA Hotels Loves It
● Beautifully designed by Shanghai-based Neri&Hu, drawing inspiration from the spatial poetry of traditional Chinese gardens.
● Minimalist guestrooms with soaring ceilings, custom-made furniture, and a refined material palette that feels both contemporary and unmistakably Chinese.
● A peaceful urban retreat in Shanghai’s fast-growing New Bund district, seamlessly connected to culture, business, and the performing arts.
A New Chapter for Shanghai
Artyzen New Bund 31 occupies a prominent position within Shanghai’s ambitious Qiantan development, one of the city’s newest cultural and business districts. Surrounded by contemporary towers, a performing arts center, offices, and public spaces, the hotel offers an unexpected sense of tranquility. Rather than competing with the surrounding skyline, it creates an atmosphere of calm through architecture, landscape, and carefully choreographed interiors, establishing itself as an urban sanctuary at the edge of the Huangpu River.
Inspired by the Chinese Garden
Neri&Hu approached the hotel as a contemporary interpretation of a classical Chinese garden. Guests move through a sequence of spaces connected by stone pathways, intimate courtyards, and pavilion-like structures that gently reveal one experience after another. The arrival begins in a deliberately subdued, almost monolithic lobby before opening into naturally light-filled public spaces where bamboo, terraces, and landscaped courtyards soften the urban surroundings. It’s a journey rather than a lobby.
Quiet Luxury
The hotel’s 202 guestrooms continue the architectural narrative. Extra-high ceilings, expansive windows, pale timber floors, textured walls, and custom-designed furniture create interiors that feel calm and residential. Materials such as natural stone, handcrafted concrete, terracotta brick, and textured plaster reference traditional Chinese architecture without becoming literal, while carefully selected accent colors—soft blues, muted greens, blush pinks, and warm copper tones—introduce subtle character throughout. The atmosphere is restrained, tactile, and effortlessly elegant.
Design Through Detail
Everything feels intentionally crafted. Stone flooring flows from the corridors into the guestrooms, reinforcing the idea of wandering through a garden landscape. White walls frame carefully positioned openings that capture both city views and interior perspectives, while low-slung timber furniture, bespoke lighting, and works by local artists reinforce the hotel’s quietly contemporary identity. It is minimalism with warmth rather than austerity.
An Urban Retreat
The hotel’s restaurant, Shanghai Modern, extends onto generous outdoor terraces, while lounges and landscaped spaces encourage guests to slow the pace of city life. Throughout the podium level, natural daylight filters through bamboo planting and architectural screens, creating an ever-changing play of light and shadow that recalls the experience of walking through a traditional Chinese courtyard garden. Even in one of Shanghai’s newest districts, the hotel feels deeply rooted in Chinese design traditions.
Why It Works
Artyzen New Bund 31 demonstrates how contemporary luxury can embrace local identity without relying on clichés. Neri&Hu have created a hotel where architecture, landscape, craftsmanship, and hospitality work together to produce a remarkable sense of calm amid one of the world’s busiest cities. For travelers who appreciate thoughtful design, understated luxury, and architecture with a strong sense of place, it is one of Shanghai’s most sophisticated new addresses.
