Shanghai stairs win global design awards

The Red Stairs, designed by students from Tongji University, is matched with signage using traditional Chinese patterns. [Photo/segd.org]

The Red Stairs, designed by students from the College of Design and Innovation at Shanghai's Tongji University, recently became a winner at the 2018 Global Design Awards launched by the Society for Experiential Graphic Design in the United States.

The stairs, located in a 60-year-old residential building in Yangpu district of Shanghai, are part of an old community renovation project co-launched by Tongji and Sipinglu subdistrict last year.

The designers preserved the original red color of the stairs and matched it with traditional Chinese patterns.

Various patterns were used and designed into numbers to mark the floors and each house of the building. For instance, the first floor used a pattern shaped like 回 (pronounced "hui" in Chinese) with the implied meaning of "returning home safely".

The new design solved the building's absence of floor numbers and doorplates, the most common problem the residents have complained about, and brought the residents more convenience.

The judges commented that the design uses a simple but thoughtful way to activate a forgotten community space and improve the residents' daily experiences.

The renovation of old community spaces forms part of the city's urban renovation plan. Similar possibilities in old communities will be explored, according to the design team.

Chinese traditional patterns form signs in an old residential building in Shanghai, all containing auspicious meanings. [Photo/segd.org]

A doorplate is part of the Red Stairs design in an old residential building in Shanghai. [Photo/segd.org]