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　　The 'small iron' building

　　Cape Town Apartments VS Normandie Apartments

　　The Cape Town Apartments on Wukang Road are a miniature version of the nearby Normandie Apartments.

George Wilson

　　Known by locals as the “small iron” building due to its shape, the Cape Town Apartments were designed by the firm Palmer & Turner, which was founded by William Salway in 1868 in Hong Kong. The architectural firm entered the Shanghai market in 1912, making a big impression with the Union Building (now Three on the Bund).

A blueprint of the Union Building (now Three on the Bund)

　　The company went on to play a leading role in the reconstruction of the Bund in the 1920s and designed nine of the 23 waterfront buildings including the HSBC Building and Sassoon House.

　　HSBC Building

　　“Palmer & Turner was the largest and most important architecture firm in Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s. Its works were almost a mini collection of the Shanghai architectural scene,” says Tongji University vice president Wu Jiang.

　　The original window handle of the building

　　Qian Zonghao, another Tongji University professor, is a fan of the Cape Town Apartments because the building made excellent use of an odd shaped plot of land, which was common in the former French Concession.

　　“These awkward plots forced architects to be creative and come up with smart designs. It lead to a bunch of clean-cut, chic apartment buildings with scientific layouts just like the Cape Town Apartments. These buildings were popular among the city’s white-collar employees,” Qian says.

　　Cape Town Apartments

　　Built in the 1940s, the four-story Cape Town building covers an area of 126.7 square meters and has a rather flat top. The façade is divided in three sections vertically with the middle part protruding to the street. The creamy-hued façade is decorated simply with some white lines. The acute angle of the building is treated in a curved way, which flows smoothly to the roadside façade. The windows are in a variety of shapes including circles, squares and rectangles.

　　Staircase

　　Inside, the original staircase is paved with a stylish red-and-black mosaic and the butter-hued tiles are well-preserved. The ground floor now features fashion shops while the top floors remain apartments.

　　The ground floor

　　Qian says that there is an impression that a big firm like Palmer & Turner would only take on big projects, which isn’t true as the Cape Town Apartments demonstrate. He notes that several small villas along Wukang Road were also designed by Palmer & Turner.

　　Click “Read more”to see full version story.

　　About the building

　　Yesterday:Cape Town Apartments

　　Today: Cape Town Apartments residential and retail

　　Architect: Palmer & Turner

　　Built in the 1940s

　　Architectural style: Modern

　　Tips: The interior is not open to the public. Have a close look at the acute angle of the building and compare the smart design of this building with the Midget Apartments at 115 Wukang Road, or the Normandie Apartments.

　　Staircase

　　They don't make them like they used to

　　Most historical buildings along Wukang Road are either garden villas or small apartment buildings. They were mostly constructed between the 1920s and early 1940s and are reminders of a golden chapter in the city’s architectural history.

　　The architectural scholars who wrote “Shanghai Wukang Road” classified buildings near the street into four major styles — Spanish residences, British country villas, Art Deco & modern styles, along with French Renaissance forms.

　　Ke Ling’s Residences is a Spanish residence.

　　The Spanish residences on Wukang Road resemble those found in suburbs across Spain, which featured bright-colored cement stucco walls, covered porches, curved gables, gentle sloping roofs and red ceramic tiles. The balconies and staircase railings were often decorated with cast iron floral patterns or spiral columns. The cheaper construction cost and decorative style made the homes more popular than the British country style. It was especially popular for small villas in the neighborhood.

　　No.109 Wukang Road is a British country villa.

　　The British country villas made at time boasted strong features. Gables and external walls were usually made with a mix of timber and red bricks. They often had steep sloping roofs compared with Spanish residences and occupied more land because they often included a big, lush garden. Good examples included 75 and 99 Wukang Road, which later was the home of renowned entrepreneur Liu Jingji.

　　Willow Court displays Art Deco style.

　　Most small apartment buildings along Wukang Road were built in either an Art Deco or modern style, such as the Midget Apartments and Cape Town Apartments.

　　Normandie Apartments displays French Renaissance forms.

　　The French renaissance buildings were built with good proportions and had columns as centerpieces on the façade, such as Laszlo Hudec’s Normandie Apartments, as well as 376, 392 and 395 Wukang Road.

　　(Courtesy of Shanghai Library & Wu Jiang’s book “A History of Shanghai Architecture 1840-1949” Photos by Zhang Xuefei & Michelle Qiao)