Gasholder as Retrigger

Shanghai’s iconic gasholders are set to be decommissioned as the government initiates a major regeneration plan for the surrounding area. The site, located on Shuidian Road in Hongkou District near Dabaishu Metro Station, currently appears as an inactive “box” disconnected from its urban context. Research reveals that the site lies between a commercial center and a cultural industrial park, positioning it as a key node in the region’s future development. However, the existing ecological corridors surrounding the site are interrupted by this enclosed block, creating both environmental and pedestrian barriers. To address these issues, a landform-based strategy is proposed. By reconfiguring the ground surfaces, the new topography leverages its inherent flexibility to integrate a broad range of complementary urban and ecological functions within a unified framework. These redefined spatial conditions establish new centers of activity, recycling and restructuring the surrounding urban fabric. The four iconic gasholders act as catalysts for transformation. Through adaptive reuse, they are envisioned as new spatial anchors—transforming industrial relics into active nodes the drive urban growth and cultural continuity.