Shaoxing’s former party school reopens as 4,416 m² BANSHAN1994 Commune

What happened

Office Canopy of Architecture has converted a former Shangyu District Committee Party School in Shaoxing, China, into BANSHAN1994 Commune. The building, constructed in 1994, had stood unused for roughly three decades before being reconsidered during Baiguan Urban Memory Research.

Baiguan Subdistrict appointed the practice in March 2023 to create a commercial and work-focused complex linked to neighbourhood life and young entrepreneurs returning to the area. The 4,416 m² project combines workspaces, retail activity and publicly accessible areas.

The intervention removes the building’s recessed glass frontage and introduces a folded, transparent façade at street level. A double-height glazed volume at the south-east corner contains a café. Along the south and east sides, ramps, planting and outdoor furniture sit within a continuous red-brick terrace.

Inside, curved partitions replace a more corridor-based arrangement. Openings in these dividers allow separate use of spaces while retaining visual connections. The covered atrium has been reopened to daylight and crossed by a curved bridge, while the former technical roof area has become a walkable terrace.

Why it matters

For property owners and designers in Türkiye and Europe, the project illustrates a reuse model in which an idle institutional building is adapted for mixed commercial, working and public use rather than replaced. Its approach retains elements of the existing structure while adding new street-facing and shared spaces.

The operating model also links physical refurbishment with leasing and management. Lower floors use time-based occupancy, while upper levels are rented. The complex reached 70% occupancy on completion and all space was leased within two months. It now hosts 29 businesses.

Background

The project also retained a two-square-metre locksmith’s shop beside the building. The shop, which had operated for about 30 years, moved temporarily during construction and returned to its former location after the work was completed.

The design team treats the building as able to accommodate changing users and programmes over time, rather than fixing it to a single future use.

What’s next

No further construction timetable or expansion plan is stated in the available material. The completed site is operating with its 29 businesses.