here’s your first look at MINI living shanghai

In a former paint factory in the heart of Shanghai, a new kind of community is emerging. Living spaces interwoven with social experiences and cultural hubs; shared working spaces integrated fully into retail and gastronomic environments. Car-sharing is standard, and every night ends with a view of the cityscape from a perch in the rooftop garden. This is the future — and it can be found in MINI Living Shanghai.

When MINI launched its first car in 1959, the brand gave the public an idea of what tomorrow might look like. In MINI’s imagination, the future didn’t mean isolation, but togetherness: their first vehicle was stylish, compact, reliable and fuel-efficient, meaning more time could be spent enjoying everything a city has to offer rather than worrying about where to find a parking spot. This forward-thinking approach is one of the reasons why MINI positions itself as more than just a car company. With current products and projects like the MINI Electric, design space A/D/O and their start-up accelerator Urban-X, MINI’s position as a full lifestyle experience brand is strong.

Their most recent offering, MINI Living Shanghai, is a natural continuation of this non-traditional tradition. With this community sense in mind, MINI Living Shanghai has an open-door policy, meaning you don’t need to live or work in the area to experience the wide range of activities available in the space. As a workplace, MINI Living is ideal, featuring coworking areas and a full exercise room for those who want to keep active. As a place to socialise, the former factory is also top-notch, with a range of bars, restaurants and more populating the building’s spacious interior. And the beauty of the space itself cannot be overstated — simply put, it’s gorgeous, offering an open-air gallery, a karaoke room and even a small cinema in its immaculately designed 7,600 square meter premises.

While the space is not yet open, several businesses already have plans to build storefronts in MINI Living’s walls. Camden Hauge, a culinary figure known around the world, will open her sixth restaurant, a coffee shop and bakery called “Egg”, and Sherry Xu, founder of furniture brand 8 Hour Design, says that the label will open their first storefront in MINI Living Shanghai. Chinese label “Short Sentence” will also have a store in MINI Living Shanghai, where it will sell clothes, accessories and more.

The future is where MINI started and it’s where they plan to stay and if anything proves that, it’s MINI Living Shanghai. For a sneak peek of MINI Living Shanghai’s facilities, check out the images below.