The Guo Brothers' Building

The Guo Brothers' Building

The Guo Brothers' Building is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

The Guo Brothers' Building is located at No. 1418 West Nanjing Road. It consists of two three-story French-style buildings with similar architectural styles, which were once the residences of Guo Le, the former owner of Shanghai's Yong'an Company, and his younger brother Guo Shun. These two buildings are commonly referred to as the "Brothers' Buildings." The design was created by the architectural firm Palmer & Turner, which was founded in Hong Kong before 1891 and entered Shanghai in the early 20th century. Before 1916, they designed and supervised the construction of the Union Building at No. 4 The Bund and the Municipal Council Building at No. 193 Hankou Road, both of which earned excellent reputations. The Yong'an Company was also designed by this firm. Guo Le had a close relationship with Wilson from Palmer & Turner, so the "Brothers' Buildings" were also commissioned to be designed by Wilson.

According to the client’s requirements, the "Brothers' Buildings" designed by Wilson feature an exterior with a strong resemblance to French Renaissance architectural style. Additionally, according to architectural history expert Mr. Xue Shunsheng, these two garden villas are arranged east-west, each covering a floor area of 1,232 square meters. At that time, there was a custom in Shanghai house-building known as "elder brother in the east, younger brother in the west," “so the building on the east side was occupied by the elder brother, Guo Le, while the one on the west side was the residence of the younger brother, Guo Shun.”

Although these two buildings are Western in style, because the owners and builders were Chinese, they still incorporate certain elements of traditional Chinese architectural layouts with three main rooms and two side wings. The structures have three stories, steeply pitched roofs, and prominent chimney stacks. At the center, there are curved porticos and covered balconies that project outward on the eastern and western sides, with symmetrical cantilevered balconies on the second and third floors. The parapets at the top are designed as classical openwork balustrades in the shape of precious vases, integrating harmoniously with the central arched portico and balconies, highlighting the French residential style that emphasizes balanced and symmetrical facades. The facades feature intricate moldings and delicate decorations, with lively and varied spatial treatments. The ground floor uses Tuscan-style pilasters, the second floor features Ionic columns, and the third floor is adorned with Corinthian columns. The plasterwork on the flat roof is exquisitely detailed, with lighting fixtures centered within decorative patterns. This type of flat roof later became popular in luxury residences.

Listed as part of the eighth batch of protected cultural heritage sites of Shanghai in 2014