Exposition Location Shanghai development structures, Goettsch Partners designers style news, 2010 website renewal landscape
18 March 2026
Place: former 2010 Shanghai World Expo website, Pu Dong, China
Style: Goettsch Partners (GP), in cooperation with retail architect Link Design Group
Expo Place Completion Marks A New Chapter For Shanghai’s Former World Expo Premises
Redevelopment delivers a dynamic, sustainable mixed-use district
All images © CreatAR Exposition Location Shanghai Development Structures News CHICAGO–(March 18, 2026 )– Global architecture firm Goettsch Partners(GP )is delighted to reveal the completion of Expo Location, marking a significant turning point in the long-lasting advancement of the former 2010 Shanghai World Expo site and transforming a once-fragmented landscape into a cohesive, human-scaled mixed-use district developed for everyday metropolitan life.
< img src="// www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20520%20347%22%3E%3C/svg%3E"data-src ="https://www.e-architect.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/expo-place-shanghai-development-city-china-g180326-c-520x347.webp"alt="Expo Place Shanghai city China"width= "520"height= "347 "/ > Developed as a reaction to the difficulties dealt with by post-mega-event websites worldwide, Expo Location reimagines a portion of the previous Expo grounds that had actually been entrusted to deserted infrastructure, half-built foundations, and unrealized advancement strategies following the Exposition, which invited more than
73 million visitors and represented China’s emergence on the worldwide phase.< img src ="// www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20520%20347%22%3E%3C/svg%3E"data-src ="https://www.e-architect.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/expo-place-shanghai-development-buildings-street-g180326-c-520x347.webp"alt="Expo Place Shanghai advancement structures street "width="520"height="347"/ >“World Exposition sites are among the most challenging urban environments to repurpose, “said James Zheng, AIA, LEED AP, CEO and president of GP.” They are constructed for a moment in time, not for the long arc of city life. Expo Location shows how thoughtful style, adaptive reuse, and programmatic diversity can turn a short-lived worldwide phase into an irreversible, flourishing neighborhood that produces long-term worth for both the city and its individuals.” Rather than eliminating the site’s intricate history, GP, in collaboration with retail designer Link Style Group, developed a technique to welcome it. Substantial below-grade structures originally intended for a single-use hotel development were carefully studied, retained and adaptively reused, forming the structure for a varied mixed-use program while substantially decreasing demolition waste and embodied carbon. Above ground, the job incorporates twin Class An office towers, boutique office villas, layered retail and 2 hotels, consisting of Asia’s first Thompson-branded home and a Mumian hotel. Below grade, direct connections link the district to active retail areas and public transportation.
< img src ="// www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20520%20347%22%3E%3C/svg%3E"data-src ="https://www.e-architect.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/expo-place-shanghai-buildings-china-g180326-c-520x347.webp"alt="Expo Place Shanghai buildings China night"width ="520"height ="347 "/ > At the heart of the design is the development of a contemporary town center that feels intimate, walkable and active throughout the day and night. Turning down a monolithic mega-development visual, each structure is articulated with its own identity, while pedestrian streets, sunken plazas, and multilevel indoor-outdoor connections draw inspiration from the scale and spatial richness of conventional Shanghai alleyways.
“Our objective was to design a place where daily life unfolds naturally,” said Paul De Santis, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, partner and style director at GP. “Rather of a single mega-structure, we created a layered city material– one that stabilizes density with human scale, architecture with landscape, and private advancement with meaningful public area.”
Landscape plays a main function throughout the district, from activated ground-level plazas to rooftop gardens and outside dining balconies that soften the architecture and strengthen connections to the riverfront beyond. Vehicular blood circulation is pressed to the border and separated across multiple levels, creating a safeguarded pedestrian realm and smooth access to public transport.
Sustainability is embedded in the project’s design framework. Adaptive reuse of existing infrastructure is complemented by perimeter-only car access, comprehensive pedestrian networks, native planting, green roofings, and outdoor terraces that reduce heat-island impacts and boost biodiversity. Exterior sun-shading systems decrease solar heat gain while doubling as an architectural lighting function during the night, and operable windows promote natural ventilation throughout milder seasons.
For Shanghai, Expo Location functions as an engaging example of how prominent short-lived event sites can develop into self-sustaining metropolitan communities. By restoring continuity to the former Exposition grounds, supporting surrounding cultural possessions, and contributing to the city’s broader riverfront revitalization, the project establishes a precedent for the future redevelopment of mega-event websites worldwide.
Goettsch Partners Goettsch Partners(GP )is an architecture company with an international point of view. Based in Chicago, with additional workplaces in Denver and Shanghai, the firm brings a particular approach to
design that combines skilled experience with an enthusiasm for expedition and innovation.Completed projects cover 5 continents and represent a diverse range of types and sizes. Every project style starts with multiple concepts that are evaluated for intrinsic value, constructability and environmental effect. GP jobs share a constant visual language of strong clarity that commemorates extremely crafted technical options providing ideal efficiency. Visit www.gpchicago.com for more information.Goettsch Partners Expo
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