The Middle House, located in the HKRI Taikoo Hui mixed-use development in Shanghai’s upscale Jing An district, belongs to the House Collective, a small grouping of four luxury hotels in Hong Kong and Mainland China run by Swire Hotels, part of the Hong Kong-based Swire Group (one of the owners of Cathay Pacific). As their name indicates, the “houses” of the House Collective aim to provide an authentic and personalised experience that is inspired by their locations and embraces the spirit of its home city. And this 5-star hotel does just that – the small size (there are just 111 guest rooms) ensures the feel of an intimate urban sanctuary and Italian designer Piero Lissoni’s sophisticated and minimalist reinterpretation of classical Shanghainese design elements ensures that the property exudes a strong sense of place. Even the Middle House’s name is a nod to its location in the historic lanehouse neighbourhood of Dazhongli, ‘zhong’ meaning ‘middle.’
Art in its Architecture and Soul
A commitment to art and design is in the DNA of the House Collective. So much so that Swire Hotels has engaged a dedicated art consultant to curate the art collection at each House of the House Collective. The ground-level entrance to the Middle House is discreet, tucked away in a corner of the Taikoo Hui complex and shielded behind a bamboo grove. Upon entering the lobby, though, you are greeted by this dramatic, six-metre high and 3,760-piece Murano glass chandelier, created by Fabiano Zanchi and made in Venice. Around the corner is Hong Kong-born artist Caroline Cheng’s porcelain robe, a huge number of tiny porcelain butterflies sculped together in the shape of a robe. What is almost as impressive as the artwork itself is that the staff are able to speak to the story behind the art on the walls. At the risk of sounding cliché, when you have interactions like this, it really does feel like you have entered a luxury home rather than a hotel.
Lissoni’s touch is evident in the design of the Middle House, inside and out. The exterior façade is a textured blend of generously sized windows and louvred aluminium slats, which at once provide privacy and shelter from the elements while ensuring ample views. This is an example of how Lissoni has reinvented a Shanghainese design element – louvres with slats are a traditional element of Shanghainese architecture, but using round frames is a novel tweak to them. Inside, the theme continues, with the nightstands, table lamps and wall-to-wall benches in the guest rooms all being reinterpretations of traditional Chinese furniture and Chinese artwork displayed in every corner of the hotel. That Italian chic is still undeniably there, though, with the rooms featuring classic minimalist elements such as transparent room dividers, backlit walls and glazed screens.
Exquisite Dining
One of the hallmarks of a great hotel is that its restaurants and bars are buzzing with the local crowd. That is certainly the case here. Each of the Middle House’s three restaurants combine an atmosphere of casual sophistication with an emphasis on quality produce and seasonal ingredients, prepared in a finessed but unpretentious way.
Café Gray Deluxe is the anchor all-day dining restaurant. Its wraparound outdoor terrace, with views of Nanjing West Road, is the perfect spot for an understated but classy social or business occasion. Inside, there is a brasserie-style dining area with high ceilings, adjoining an open kitchen.
Sui Tang Li is the Chinese restaurant. Its glass show kitchen and elevated second floor position overlooking the bamboo greenery of the Taikoo Hui precinct lend it a cool and cultured vibe. The name “Sui Tang Li” means “happy, free and relaxed” in Chinese, so it figures. Helmed by head chef Tony Li, a Shanghai native, the kitchen plays with new and old, reinventing traditional dishes with novel or foreign ingredients – think Shanghainese Xiao Long Bao made with Spanish Iberico ham.
Frasca is Middle House’s Italian eatery. In a nod to the inviting atmosphere, Frasca’s name literally means ‘branch,’ and is a reference to the practice in the northern Italian region of Friuli of hanging a wreath of branches over a farmhouse door to signify the sale of food and wine inside. The head chef originally hails from Rome and he uses time-honoured Italian methods and regional recipes, so authenticity is guaranteed.
Mi Xun Spa
Occupying 2,600 square metres of subterranean floor space is the Mi Xun Spa and the wellness facilities (which include a heated 25-metre indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and 24-hour gym). Thanks to the curving corridors lined with bamboo columns, the textured concrete walls and the futuristic backlighting, this is an ethereally calm sanctuary and feels like a total escape from the outside world. Even though there are no windows, you feel released rather than trapped, which is a testament to the power of good design.
Conclusive remarks
If you are looking for a sophisticated and fashionable address in Shanghai’s most upscale district, the Middle House is it. It may not have the historic façade or skyscraper views of some of its competitors on the Bund or in Pudong, but that is part of the attraction: staying here is a ticket into an exclusive, luxurious yet authentic modern-day Shanghai experience, away from the throngs of tourists.