Atlanta-based John Portman & Associates Inc. architectural firm has launched its latest project in China, the redevelopment of a historic neighborhood in Shanghai.

The Jian Ye Li neighborhood was built in the 1930s for low-to middle-income workers of a construction company by the same name. It was designed by a French architect in the former French Concession in Shanghai.

In 1994, the government of Shanghai declared the neighborhood a protected heritage site. The redevelopment will preserve the exterior architecture of the buildings. Original bricks have been dismantled and cleaned and will be reused in the project, said Portman spokeswoman Emily Ann Munnell. The project will include residential, retail and restaurant space.

Portman’s China connections go back to 1979 when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping visited Atlanta. He stayed at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, a Portman project, and admired the architecture, said Ms. Munnell.

“He was very impressed with that and he wanted one for China,” she said. “He was very open to ideas from the outside.”

Portman went on to develop Shanghai Centre, a high-rise office, residential, retail and hotel complex that opened 15 years ago. It includes the Portman Ritz-Carlton.

The Jian Ye Li project is  low rise, with an emphasis on restoration and preservation of existing buildings.

“It’s a departure for us,” said Ms. Munnell. “Most of our other projects have been high rises.”

In 1929 architectural drawings of the Jian Ye Li neighborhood, there was a water tower. The Portman firm has been unable to locate photographs of the structure but will build a modern version of a traditional water tower combining copper lattice work and original Jian Ye Li brick. 

John Portman & Associates, founded in 1954, has offices in Atlanta and Shanghai. 

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