Midan Apartments

The beginning

Why was it built here?

The original name, Midget Apartments, advertised a very small scale. In 1931 Marcel Guillet of Crédit Foncier d’Extrême-Orient designed five storeys on an irregular corner site for a Chinese owner. The designer and later resident A. E. Kruze were different people.[1] [2]

Limited ground did not remove the requirements of modern living. Early accounts describe rooms, kitchen, bathroom and service accommodation; the ground floor retained an entrance, hall, stairs and support spaces. The achievement lies in organising life under constraint, not simply in its pointed silhouette.[1] [2]

Look up, then look closer

Three details worth a closer look

One building, changing roles

Read the building through time

Captions distinguish photographic dates from publication dates; periods without reliable images are covered in the text.

1. August 1930

   The project in the press

   A contemporary newspaper described the planned five-storey building and its accommodation.[1] [2]

2. Late 1931

   Apartments completed

   December reporting drew attention to the tiny site as residential occupation began.[1] [2]

3. Early 1960s

   Performers live here

   Sun Daolin and Wang Wenjuan were associated with the apartments before moving to Wukang Mansion.[1] [2]

Shanghai and the world

Part of Wukang Road’s lived history

A Chinese owner, the design practice and later tenants all belong to its social history. The 2023 architectural account identifies the designer independently of architects who later lived here.[1] [2]

Guofumen, diagonally opposite and five years younger, uses more restrained decoration. They are separate buildings, not two views of the same one.[1] [2]

More photographs

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