Andaz Shanghai ITC: Sailing the Urban Tide
At the southwest corner of Shanghai’s Xujiahui Centre, Andaz Shanghai ITC translates the movement of yachts on the Huangpu River into an architectural language for a dense urban setting.
The design begins with two related ideas: the sail and the deck. The hotel’s curved tower form draws on the profile of a sail, while the podium anchors the corner like a yacht hull. Together, these elements distinguish the hotel within the surrounding office towers while maintaining a clear relationship with their vertical scale and glass façades.
The tower combines sweeping curtain-wall forms with upright fins and carefully shaped corners. This balance of fluid and vertical elements gives the building its identity: a more expressive, sculpted form within the broader commercial development. Glass volumes bring lightness to the composition, while the curved connections between tower and podium create a continuous architectural gesture.
At street level, the podium gives the maritime concept its most tactile expression. Its champagne-toned aluminium façade is composed to catch and reflect daylight, recalling sunlight moving across water. The rounded form turns the corner rather than meeting it abruptly, creating a more distinctive and welcoming presence at the hotel entrance.
The 15-floor hotel accommodates 267 guest rooms, ranging from 45 to 55 sqm. Arrival is organised across two levels, with a main lobby and drop-off on Level 3, alongside ground-floor access from Yishan North Road and Hongqiao Road. Higher in the building, the Sky Lobby, restaurant and rooftop terrace bar on Level 14 open the hotel towards views across the city, while the swimming pool and gymnasium occupy Level 15.
By drawing on the imagery of sails, decks and reflected water, Andaz Shanghai ITC gives a clear architectural character to its urban location shaping the guest experience from the street corner to the skyline.
Project details:
Location: Xujiahui Centre, Shanghai, China
Gross floor area: 31,455 sqm
Hotel floors: 15
Guest rooms: 267
Architecture and design: P&T Group