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Cluster of classics hosts high rollers
By David Maguire |
March 22, 2009, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A HERITAGE arch-itecture plaque at the entrance to a compound at No. 796 on the high-end retail strip of Huaihai Road attests to the historic value of the matching light cream colored mansions inside that share a large English-style garden.
The inscription -- "Terrace Houses. East building: built in 1921; West building: built in 1927. Brick-and-concrete composite structure. Simplified neoclassic style." -- relates to the exalted place the buildings occupy in the receding annals of time.
The twins are the three-story French-style, conjoined villas built in the era by a Shanghai comprador and are among the city's many splendid major architectural gems being spruced up and converted for contemporary use.
Over the past two years or so the pair have been meticulously renovated and reinvigorated to a supreme level of luxury, fitting enough for them to become Alfred Dunhill's Shanghai home, the exclusive timepiece manufacturer Vacheron Constantin's mansion, the ShanghART contemporary gallery and the membership-only Kee Club, creating a veritable cluster of swank and style.
The advent of the private member Kee Shanghai on the third and fourth floors marks the Chinese mainland debut of the hospitality legend Christian Rhomberg and his wife Maria who are hoping to emulate their successful equivalent in Hong Kong.
"I was not so keen for a private club because I know it's difficult here but the location is special and I am happy not to be on the Bund," Rhomberg said this week.
With a preference for "shopping where you walk in off the street rather than in a huge mall," the Huaihai Road location suits the sort of entity he wants to develop.
"It's closer to the street than our Hong Kong club and with the natural garden is a more beautiful place," said the successful businessman who will decorate the Kee levels with items from his own art and antiques collection, enhancing the European touch of a private residence.
Befitting the age of the mansions and their architectural style, the club's salon ambience is enhanced by sun or city lights streaming through original stained-glass windows, with the high ceilings, wooden staircases and floors, original elevator and quirky layout evoking a feeling of bygone eras.
Eclectic, distinctive fittings and furniture, such as Chesterfield lounges, celebrate the "here and now" without disturbing the eternal spirit of the mansion evoked through paintings, photos and posters placed on walls in hallways, private dining rooms, the brasserie restaurant and enticing lounge and bar.
"The culture of entertaining friends is very strong in Shanghai and we want to build on that to develop a strong club culture of key people, of movers active in Shanghai," Rhomberg said.
They decided to open in Shanghai "because we are older and wanted to do something older and more sophisticated, where interesting people can meet like in our club in Hong Kong," which is a high society mecca.
"We want it to be a small home in the city for members where they can sit outdoors in a small casual caf?? setting in the garden or dine on the great balconies," he said.
"In Shanghai there are good bars and restaurants but they're big. Kee is intimate and small, not a nightclub but a social club with dining and a focus on functions.
"I have a big passion for art and also want to make it an art hub."
He views Shanghai as "very sophisticated" through how all the old buildings are used and renovated in tandem with development of the modern city.
"The global flagship stores within the complex are vastly different to brand shops elsewhere," he said alluding to the luxury concept island the Richemont Group has brought together in the relatively small enclave.
With a strong, underlying inclination to make his patrons and members feel comfortable, Rhomberg's ethos is that "people look for exclusivity and intelligence in a place where quality and like-minded others can be found."
Kee Shanghai is in a fully operational pre-opening period, establishing a team and completing fit out of secondary areas to launch as a full private member club by the end of April.
At present the public can access the facilities but in the future membership will be necessary to do so, Rhomberg said.
Rhomberg recently appointed as a managing director and partner fellow Austrian Jan Michael Svoboda to take on overall planning and management of the Kee clubs.
A hospitality veteran of the Peninsula Group, Svoboda recognizes that "for Shanghai, one of the challenges that we are facing is that a private members club is still a relatively new concept."
The target market is "affluent Chinese, multinational business leaders, creative people and the fun crowd" said Rhomberg for which he will set a membership fee of 50,000 yuan and offer a list of benefits linked to the luxury enclave's tenants and other businesses.
The comprador would have been impressed with such ambition.
The inscription -- "Terrace Houses. East building: built in 1921; West building: built in 1927. Brick-and-concrete composite structure. Simplified neoclassic style." -- relates to the exalted place the buildings occupy in the receding annals of time.
The twins are the three-story French-style, conjoined villas built in the era by a Shanghai comprador and are among the city's many splendid major architectural gems being spruced up and converted for contemporary use.
Over the past two years or so the pair have been meticulously renovated and reinvigorated to a supreme level of luxury, fitting enough for them to become Alfred Dunhill's Shanghai home, the exclusive timepiece manufacturer Vacheron Constantin's mansion, the ShanghART contemporary gallery and the membership-only Kee Club, creating a veritable cluster of swank and style.
The advent of the private member Kee Shanghai on the third and fourth floors marks the Chinese mainland debut of the hospitality legend Christian Rhomberg and his wife Maria who are hoping to emulate their successful equivalent in Hong Kong.
"I was not so keen for a private club because I know it's difficult here but the location is special and I am happy not to be on the Bund," Rhomberg said this week.
With a preference for "shopping where you walk in off the street rather than in a huge mall," the Huaihai Road location suits the sort of entity he wants to develop.
"It's closer to the street than our Hong Kong club and with the natural garden is a more beautiful place," said the successful businessman who will decorate the Kee levels with items from his own art and antiques collection, enhancing the European touch of a private residence.
Befitting the age of the mansions and their architectural style, the club's salon ambience is enhanced by sun or city lights streaming through original stained-glass windows, with the high ceilings, wooden staircases and floors, original elevator and quirky layout evoking a feeling of bygone eras.
Eclectic, distinctive fittings and furniture, such as Chesterfield lounges, celebrate the "here and now" without disturbing the eternal spirit of the mansion evoked through paintings, photos and posters placed on walls in hallways, private dining rooms, the brasserie restaurant and enticing lounge and bar.
"The culture of entertaining friends is very strong in Shanghai and we want to build on that to develop a strong club culture of key people, of movers active in Shanghai," Rhomberg said.
They decided to open in Shanghai "because we are older and wanted to do something older and more sophisticated, where interesting people can meet like in our club in Hong Kong," which is a high society mecca.
"We want it to be a small home in the city for members where they can sit outdoors in a small casual caf?? setting in the garden or dine on the great balconies," he said.
"In Shanghai there are good bars and restaurants but they're big. Kee is intimate and small, not a nightclub but a social club with dining and a focus on functions.
"I have a big passion for art and also want to make it an art hub."
He views Shanghai as "very sophisticated" through how all the old buildings are used and renovated in tandem with development of the modern city.
"The global flagship stores within the complex are vastly different to brand shops elsewhere," he said alluding to the luxury concept island the Richemont Group has brought together in the relatively small enclave.
With a strong, underlying inclination to make his patrons and members feel comfortable, Rhomberg's ethos is that "people look for exclusivity and intelligence in a place where quality and like-minded others can be found."
Kee Shanghai is in a fully operational pre-opening period, establishing a team and completing fit out of secondary areas to launch as a full private member club by the end of April.
At present the public can access the facilities but in the future membership will be necessary to do so, Rhomberg said.
Rhomberg recently appointed as a managing director and partner fellow Austrian Jan Michael Svoboda to take on overall planning and management of the Kee clubs.
A hospitality veteran of the Peninsula Group, Svoboda recognizes that "for Shanghai, one of the challenges that we are facing is that a private members club is still a relatively new concept."
The target market is "affluent Chinese, multinational business leaders, creative people and the fun crowd" said Rhomberg for which he will set a membership fee of 50,000 yuan and offer a list of benefits linked to the luxury enclave's tenants and other businesses.
The comprador would have been impressed with such ambition.
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