More than just a museum-- Rongzhai in Shanghai

Rong Zhai is built in a western-style and is a standalone three story home. Including the garden area the total land space is 6.6 mu, 2,182 square meters of which are taken up by the house and 2,475 square meters for the garden.

Rong Zhai was designed in an Eclecticism style with a reinforced concrete structure by Chen Chunjiang.The interior was decorated with a combination of French classicism and traditional Chinese elements. The outside structure and technology are mainly Western style while the inside arrangements had more of a traditional Chinese design.

Rongzhai is more than just a museum—it itself is a huge stand-alone exhibit. Formerly the residence of Chinese industrialist Rong Zongjing (1873_1938), this European_style building combines Chinese and Western aesthetic elements. In 2011, Italian luxury fashion house Prada rented the building and spent six years renovating it. It invited world-renowned architect as well as the most experienced Chinese and Italian artisans to restore the original look of the century-old building with traditional techniques. The “golden ratio” principle is widely used in its interior design that features light colors. Splendid wooden carvings, colored glass windows and traditional enamel bricks and tiles remind people of the building’s past glory.