Central Apartments Shanghai

Construction began in 1925 as a real estate venture by architect Abelardo Lafuente and his partners, which included a local Spanish religious order. Originally named the "Lafuente Building", work paused in December 1925 due to an exceptionally cold Shanghai winter.

During its early years, several apartment residents were entangled in gambling disputes with the Shanghai Police Department, keeping the building in local media and bringing Lafuente to court as a trial witness. Lafuente briefly housed his architecture studio on the premises in 1926 before relocating to 316 Bubbling Well Road.

Design Strategy & Architectural Features

The building was developed to maximize profitability by covering nearly the entire plot and building upward to fit as many rental units and ground-floor commercial spaces as possible.

-Architectural Style: Eclectic and classicist overall design.
-Base & Composition: Features a classic facade breakdown with a commercial base for shops, uniform window shafts across the upper residential levels, and prominent decorative corner crowns.
-Corner Highlights (Chamfers): Curved, large windows and expansive balconies on both floors draw attention to the corners. Both main corners feature substantial railings that indicate walkable roof terraces.
-Massing & Symmetry: The central section along Medhurst Road includes an additional story slab. The corner facing Bubbling Well Road was designed with the same compositional weight as the secondary street elevation.

Current Status & Authorship
The building still stands in Shanghai today. Although additional floors were added years later, Chinese architects preserved Lafuente's original facade design.

While historical accounts sometimes credit A.J. Yaron alone, personal correspondence documented in Leonardo-Perez’s 2019 PhD dissertation (University of Alcalá) confirms that Lafuente and Yaron remained business partners until May 1928. Consequently, authorship of the project properly belongs to "Lafuente & Yaron Architects" as showed in the original letter page 594.