A Shanghai building decked out like a large pink layered cake appears to have got on the wrong side of authorities after officials ordered the decoration to be taken down just one day after it was put up.
The “cake” decoration was pasted on the exterior of the eight-storey riverside building in Shanghai’s Huangpu district, using lengths of pink and white paper running around its walls, Thepaper.cn reported.
The decoration – which was to celebrate a company’s anniversary November 1 – was considered out of place in the area, according to the report.
The report said Huangpu district officials ordered for the decoration, put up on Tuesday, to be taken down. Four workers removed it on Wednesday evening (November 2).
The embellishment was considered inappropriate because the building was located in a historical and cultural area, according to the report.
The building is situated in an historic part of Shanghai | Photo: SCMP Pictures
Local regulations state that the facade and colour of buildings in such areas cannot be altered without authorisation, the report said.
The “cake building” clashed with its surroundings and did not meet acceptable aesthetic standards, the report quoted Zheng Shiling, an urban planning expert, as saying.
Although the building itself is not of historic interest, it is located in an area featuring many old colonial buildings beside the Huangpu river in a prime Shanghai location.
The decoration had been stuck on the building’s exterior using environmentally friendly products, which did not damage its surface, an employee at the company celebrating its anniversary was quoted as saying.
Workers removed the decorations November 2, the day after they appeared | Photo: SCMP Pictures
