Monday, 14 January 2008 |
China’s first carbon-neutral hotel, the hip 26-room URBN Hotel Shanghai,
will officially open this spring. Conceived by owners Scott Barrack and
Jules Kwan, URBN promises to be the start of a new boutique hotel
empire.
No strangers to luxury developments or to China where they have lived
for 10 years, the two plan to open another 20 URBN hotels in China in
the next three years, starting with Beijing, Hangzhou, Dalian and
Suzhou. The hoteliers will go as green as possible by rehabilitating
existing structures, using recycled materials, maximizing green space
and introducing eco-friendly solutions.
Beyond co-founding boutique real estate investment and development company Space Development with Kwan, the California native Barrack has established several property companies in China, including Space International specializing in luxury French Concession district properties, and Inn Shangha,
the city’s first serviced boutique apartment complex. Sydney,
Australia-born and raised Kwan is an alternative media and property
development expert.
The partners have a unique, personal perspective on what works and what
doesn’t for a luxury traveler in China. To give visitors a true
Shanghainese urban experience — something they felt was missing — they
invited international Shanghai-based collaborators with similar
sensibilities to convert a 1970s post office building to the stylish
URBN Hotel Shanghai. The result is an impressive fusion of contemporary
and Chinese design.
URBN’s spatial concept, interior and facade design are by A00 Architecture,
a partnership of three Canadian architects, best known for conversions
of Shanghai’s historic houses into unique residences. The hotel’s
interior designer is Brazil native architect, Tais Cabral, known for
her commercial, cultural, residential and retail work in Paris, as well
as her furniture design. By Tuija Seipell
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Urbn Hotel, Shanghai 
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