Hangzhou LOFT49 Regeneration Phase II | line+ studio

“Between the ‘new’ and the ‘old,’ within an urban condition marked by fracture and rupture, we attempt to reconstruct spatial vitality through the method of Jinshan, allowing it to bring new life into the everyday conditions of the present.” — Peidong Zhu

Located along Hangzhou’s Grand Canal, Hangzhou LOFT49 Creative Park traces its origins to the Hangzhou Chemical Fiber Factory, founded in 1958. Led by Peidong Zhu, co-founder and Chief Architect of line+, the second phase of the park was fully completed at the end of 2025 and has now officially opened to the public.

In response to the overlapping demands of industrial heritage conservation, brownfield regeneration, and increased urban capacity, the design introduces the concept of “Urban Jinshan.” Rather than concealing the city’s fractures and imperfections, the project treats them as the starting point for design, introducing a clear and legible new system to reactivate spaces that had become enclosed, fragmented, and inaccessible.

Buildings 6 and 10, located at the center of the site, were preserved and renewed, while the new building volumes were pushed toward the site’s perimeter to release a continuous and open internal district. Three public plazas, connecting bridges, and a three-dimensional pedestrian network reconnect the old and new structures. Weathering steel and red glazed terracotta panels contrast with the retained industrial walls, making the traces of different periods directly perceptible.

As brand spaces, creative headquarters, and lifestyle programs gradually move in, the renewed LOFT49 is no longer a conventional office park. It has become an open urban district accommodating exhibitions, performances, markets, leisure, and everyday social interaction. Through continuous use, the former production workshops are reconnected with contemporary urban life.