Shanghai DreamCenter

Shanghai DreamCenter, on Shanghai’s West Bund, saw the Oval Partnership develop a masterplan for a 156,000-square-metre central parcel within the wider 460,000-square-metre development. Our plan encompasses the full waterfront and 12 mixed-use buildings, setting the framework for visitor engagement and a strong sense of place.
Oval’s approach is firmly people-first: visitors reach the site through a seamless link to Metro Line 11, while the riverfront is organised through a considered network of parks, public spaces and waterfront promenades – designed in collaboration with landscape consultants – that prioritise walkability, connection and community.
Our masterplan encompasses retail and concept design, integrating century-old industrial heritage into the contemporary city. This includes historic cement factory structures, which our design carefully preserved and transformed into dynamic performance venues, with one building housing a 3,000-seat arena beneath a restored dome. Preserving these structures rather than demolishing them also reduces embodied carbon – a consideration that reinforces the cultural case for keeping them. Through our design partnership, these spaces now host creativity and exchange, blending the raw texture of the past with the energy of contemporary design.
The project’s defining element is the waterfront: it invites visitors to dwell, gather and move through the site at their own pace, creating space for public life along the Huangpu River. The buildings support a mix of uses, but they also frame shared moments and everyday urban life.
The cohesion and connection embedded throughout the site is where Oval’s masterplan is most clearly expressed. It establishes the public realm framework and pedestrian circulation; links the waterfront with retail and cultural venues; programmes the open spaces; and creates interfaces with the city. Overall, our spatial logic and master planning principles intertwine culture, commerce and community, reflecting Shanghai’s evolution from an industrial powerhouse to a global cultural hub. By reworking industrial heritage into a connected, walkable cultural district, the project explores a future-facing model of urban regeneration grounded in continuity, public use and adaptability.