Shanghai Hotel

Blackstone M+ | I think this is what the future looks like. +| I think this is what the future looks like. Blackstone M+ to me is a delightful hotel, and this delight, I believe, comes from its answer to a question: What should the new generation of middle-class residences in Shanghai look like? I intuitively feel that M+'s approach will become fashionable, and if it really does, I personally think: 'Well, that's pretty good.' I believe that if a design style is to become a trend, it often has to be pleasing, just like the Shikumen houses of the Republic of China era, which gave the people inside a sense of security, something that was coveted during those turbulent times, hence it was very pleasing; similarly, a decade or so ago, minimalism emerged, providing the blankness that was lacking in the dusty, bullet-ridden Shanghai of the time, making minimalism particularly delightful. And today, I feel Shanghai has changed again, so what is delightful in this environment? A more practical question would be: In which direction will our residences go? I've never been able to see this direction until I stepped into an M+ room. M+ is surrounded by wonderful and enchanting places, such as the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Happiness Collection, Blackstone Apartments, and countless coffee shops, plane trees, and interesting little stores that sell who knows what. These existences are certainly beautiful, but when you're in a richly beautiful environment for a long time, the freshness of private space becomes particularly delightful, just like Chongqing hotpot is delicious, but after eating, when you come out of the hotpot restaurant and take a breath of the evening breeze by the river, it feels exceptionally cheerful. M+ just provides that freshness in richness: its rooms are composed of elements that naturally make one think of the words 'cold and crisp': white walls, white marble, bright mirrors, and that little bit of gold. As soon as you enter the room, you seem to hear the sound of 'bling bling', the sound of white crystals colliding with the wind, refreshing and transparent, contrasting with the thick bourgeois atmosphere outside, making one take a deep breath. But at the same time, the room is also 'playful', or rather, it does not reject the rich and heavy flavors from outside, no longer pursuing the isolation of minimalism. I think this is very much in line with the present of Shanghai. After all, this city is no longer the land of rolling yellow sand and practicality above all else from ten years ago. Its streets have long been beautified, which is why more and more people enjoy city walks, or even sit on a stool with an iced Americano and watch the small street for an entire afternoon, because it's beautiful. We have started to take joy in the public spaces of our city, or rather, our city's public spaces are no longer just places to go when you can't afford Disney; they have become first-rate sources of beauty in themselves. Therefore, our private spaces no longer need to become 'oases in the city'; on the contrary, continuing the city's atmosphere will make private spaces more delightful.