The Swatch Art Peace Hotel is on the site which was first occupied by the Central Hotel in 1854. The three-storey structure was the city’s most luxurious hotel at that time. In 1905, its owner, Central Stores Limited Company, decided to renovate the building and re-name it The Palace Hotel.

In 1907, prior to the completion of the renovation, a fire led to extensive damage to the Palace Hotel and the Board of Directors chose to commission a completely new building. It finally opened its doors for business in 1908. The year above the door,1906, reflects the date of the architect’s blueprints.

When the owners decided to renovate the hotel in 1905, they invited the British architect Walter Scott to submit his designs. Scott, who was born in India and educated in Britain, had lived in China since 1889. He was instructed to respect as many of the hotel’s existing structures as possible.

The South Building of the Peace Hotel, built in 1908 as the Palace Hotel, enjoys protected status as a cultural monument. The Swatch Art Peace Hotel project has engaged experts in historic preservation who, in their restoration efforts, have respected the building’s cultural heritage and its status as one of Shanghai’s most significant and well-known landmarks. Interestingly, its elevators were the first in Shanghai to carry people.

The Swatch Group has been actively involved in the restoration of the South Building of the historic Peace Hotel.  Under their leadership and creative guidance the project’s innovative operational concept blends a retail environment with a hotel where artists live and work.

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