A formerly abandoned Shanghainese villa becomes a luxurious showcase yet again.

Shanghai and its old villas are synonymous with each other. In Shanghai's heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, it was known as the Pearl of the Orient--or perhaps more saliently, the Whore of the East--a significant number of elegant and luxurious villas were built for wealthy Chinese and foreigners.

At the beginning of 2010, German appliance firm Miele found a dilapidated and abandoned three-story villa from the 1930s on No.82 Shimen Yi Rd. in Shanghai. Very distinctive, the mansion was designed by Robert Fan (Fan Wenzhao), one of the first Western-trained architects in China, in a hybrid European-Chinese style that combined European style facades with a sweeping traditionally Chinese roof and other Oriental details such as marble carvings and ornamentation.

Working in collaboration with design studio Kokaistudios, Miele sought to refurbish the villa into a showcase for Miele's high-end appliances while simultaneously preserving the original facade and atmosphere.

As part of that plan, a large traditional Chinese garden has been installed in the manner of what perhaps had been the original garden. And to contextualize the old structure within its new environment, a large bronze grille has been installed on the facade with the Miele logo. This grille--reminiscent of mid-century American architect Edward Durrell Stone's renovation of his old NYC brownstone by the? installation of a huge stone grille in front of the facade--derives its decoration from original design elements of the villa.

The original wooden doors have been preserved and will be kept perpetually open, thus rendering them less as a practical solution but more as a decorative solution, and increasing the spatial relationships of the interior and the exterior.

In the interior, numerous original design elements have been uncovered and restored such as the coffered ceilings and the marble staircase.

Envisioned as a multi-use box, this concept proved practical not only by virtue of the structure's squarish layout but also as a means of showcasing Miele's wares in specially separated sections. The three floors are divided into a showroom, office headquarters and an event space respectively.

Finished in soft-touch paint, the interior is designed to integrate various schemes and transformations for the assorted Miele appliances and interior applications. Miele's most luxurious collection, the Gold Series, is kept in the restored vaults of the villa's basement.

On the third floor, a VIP kitchen for hosting private dinners features a long marble counter and a large mirror in the background that electronically moves up to expose a wall of Miele appliances. Situated on the other side of the wall is a marble fireplace.

Rehabilitation and reinvention of old buildings are nothing new, but the vintage aesthetic of this Shanghai villa provides an ideal foil for the high-tech modernism of Miele and their top-end appliances.★