“The NYU Shanghai New Bund campus has finally gone from blueprint to reality,” says NYU Shanghai chancellor Tong Shijun. After three years of anticipation, the uniquely designed campus opened to students, faculty, and staff in February, just in time for NYU president Andrew Hamilton to visit in celebration of NYU Shanghai’s 10th anniversary.

Photo credit: NYU Shanghai

The campus of four interlinked buildings surrounding a beautiful courtyard was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and the Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research. The New Bund campus includes a recital hall, a black box theatre, two indoor gymnasiums, and a two-story reading room adjacent to the library. Additionally, it has 78 classrooms; a 600-seat auditorium; an art gallery to house the NYU Shanghai Institute of Contemporary Arts; and Magnolia House, a multifunctional winter garden. Although it serves as a retreat from cold weather, Magnolia House’s large glass facades offer students plenty of sunshine while exchanging ideas, studying, or socializing.

“The design for the campus brilliantly expresses our University’s cosmopolitan spirit, integrating multiple architectural and cultural traditions together with values of environmental sustainability, celebrating everything from the beauty of a 100-year-old tree to the newest thinking about neural networks,” says Vice Chancellor Jeffrey S. Lehman.

In addition to exploring the new campus, students are encouraged to explore their new neighborhood, the New Bund, and its community. Students visited the China Art Museum and traveled to Sanlin Old Town to celebrate the Yuyuan Lantern Festival as well as experience traditional customs with local residents. Future events like porcelain carving, embroidery sessions, and tours of the Shanghai History Museum and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center are planned for students to further engage with the local culture and build meaningful connections.

Another meaningful connection on the new campus? The suspended bridge over the west building’s main gateway serves as a physical representation of NYU Shanghai’s mission to build bridges between nations and individuals. “The new campus combines features from the East and the West. It connects the present with the future. With such a great campus, I am confident we will make a lasting and vital contribution to Pudong, to Shanghai, to China, and to the world,” says Shijun.