The new campus is currently in the process of being built in the Qiantan Area in Shanghai, between West Gaoqing Road and West Yangsi Road. Once work finishes, the campus will cover an area of 110,000 square metres and consist of a number of facilities for all NYU Shanghai students to enjoy. Among these are a 600 seat auditorium, a 5000 square metre library, bigger study and communal spaces, as well as larger arts and culture spaces, such as an art gallery and a recital hall.

For those who are involved in sports in NYU Shanghai, the campus will also include several sports facilities, a gym and a bigger fitness center than the current ones in the Century Avenue campus.

Although the new campus is meant to be completed by 2022, all work was stopped when China went into lockdown between the end of January and March, creating some setbacks in the action plan. We contacted Crystal Zhou, Manager of Campus and Facilities at NYU Shanghai, to get a progress check on our new campus and to check if construction was still on track for a 2022 opening:

“Yes, construction is still on track. COVID-19 indeed caused some delay to the schedule by about two months (mostly due to the travel limit in Feb and Mar). However, catch-up measures are being taken to offset the impact. We are optimistic the new campus can be finished on time,” said Zhou.

It seems that class of 2023 will be able to enjoy the new campus in their senior year, despite some setbacks from lockdown. In fact, as of the 6th of December, the entire underground structure is expected to be complete, giving way for work on the rest of the structure.

The project for the new campus is also awaiting a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certificate, as well as a Chinese green building two-star certificate to attest the environmentally friendly nature of the project and construction.

For those who feel sentimental about the Campus on Century Avenue and the Jinqiao dorms where all of us have started our NYU Shanghai journey, the opening of the new campus might be a sad day: the AB will be handed back to the owner of the property, the Liujiazui Group, once the new campus is ready, and new dorms will also be opened 2.5 Km north of the new campus.

Nevertheless, we look forward to the opening of the new campus as a new chapter of NYU Shanghai which now half of the undergrad student body can look forward to: it sure would not hurt to find a seat in the library during finals for once.

This article was written by Aimée Burlamacchi currently based in Florence, Italy. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch.

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