Riverfront Warehouses Find a New Identity

A cluster of derelict warehouses in Dali, Nanhai District, Foshan, Guangdong Province, has been transformed into a waterfront public cultural space. Atelier cnS completed the Yongping Warehouses renovation project in 2025, spanning 4,311 square meters along the Huadi River. The project revitalizes a piece of industrial heritage occupying some of the area's most valuable waterfront land.

Why This Project Matters

The Yongping Warehouses once served as a critical node in the Pearl River Delta's river trade network. As river-based logistics declined, the structures fell into disuse—occupying prime waterfront land within a densely woven urban fabric. Rather than demolishing the buildings, the design team chose preservation and adaptive reuse, unlocking latent public space within the city's tight grain.

According to industry reports, the Dali area is actively transitioning from a manufacturing-oriented economy toward a more livable urban environment. The adaptive reuse of waterfront industrial heritage represents the physical embodiment of that shift.

The Pearl River Delta's Long Transition

Since China's reform and opening-up in the 1980s, the Pearl River Delta grew into the country's manufacturing heartland. Cities like Foshan, Dongguan, and Zhongshan rapidly urbanized as lower-tier manufacturing hubs, with warehouses and logistics facilities densely lining rivers and canals. As the region's economic center of gravity shifted toward services and culture, industrial-era heritage began to be reframed as raw material for urban regeneration.

From the 2010s onward, projects like Guangzhou's TIT Creative Industry Zone and Shenzhen's OCT-LOFT demonstrated that former factories and warehouses could anchor successful cultural and commercial transformations. The Yongping Warehouses project extends that lineage to a smaller-scale riverside site in Foshan, distinguishing itself through its emphasis on public waterfront access.