^{September 2003}

Changing Spaces

4 trends in convention center design and how they will affect your show

By Patricia D. Sherman

When you walk into the Hawaii Convention Center (HCC), it feels more like a four-star hotel

than a public facility. The three-story entryway features a glass façade that takes advantage of the island’s sunny weather. The stunning lobby impresses with its giant escalator and cascading tropical flora. In addition to a $2 million Hawaiian art collection, the center features a rooftop garden, glass-encased meeting rooms and outdoor function spaces lined with giant palm trees. Like many other centers, the 5-year-old HCC has captured the feel of the destination through its design.

Over the last several years, convention center design has become an important marketing tool for facility managers and cities. Architects who design centers say the best buildings grow out of the conflicting demands inherent in the creative process — and it’s a good thing because there’s no shortage of demand. Facility managers want space they can sell. That means the latest technology, back-of-the-house convenience and balance between upscale finish and flexibility, all in a building that stands out from the competition. Cities want postcard images that enhance destination marketing, blend in with their urban context and drive retail and business development. They want centers to be big, but not take up too much scarce downtown land. At the same time, financing to build and maintain these bigger, more complex, quality-intensive centers is harder than ever to fund.

“Solving problems creates new ideas,” says C. Andrew McLean, Senior Principal, TVS and Associates, Atlanta. “What seems fundamental now was not always apparent.” Many features basic to convention centers today, like public concourses and high spaces, were solutions to specific site problems. “Then they become the hot new trend,” he says.

In recent years, four influential design trends have emerged as designers solve problems presented by intense competition for market share, site constraints in crowded downtowns and changes in tenant needs. Here’s a look at the trends and how they will affect your show.

1. Becoming an icon
“A convention center used to be a box with docks,” says Chris Eseman, Partner, LMN Architects, Seattle, WA. “Now, it has to be a civic icon, projecting and defining the image of the city.”

Besides expressing the essence of the city, the convention center design must brand the destination, says Dexter King, CFE, Executive Director/CEO of Dallas-based International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM). From a facility manager’s point of view, he says, “The design needs some feature that distinguishes it and makes a statement that helps better communicate the value of the destination and the facility.”
Don Grinberg, FAIA, Principal Architect/Director, Convention Center Architecture, HNTB Corp., Boston, agrees, “Our challenge is to give each center a ‘wow factor,’ responsive to local conditions.”

For show managers, this means exhibitors and attendees get a feel for the destination, which will help distinguish your show from others. In addition, show managers can spend less on decoration, using the building’s design as a natural backdrop in registration areas and for special events.


2. Quality and quantity
Inside, buildings look different, too. “The emphasis used to be on just space. The quality of the space wasn’t paramount,” says McLean.

With one million square feet and more virtually obligatory for first-tier cities and not uncommon in second-tier cities, there’s plenty of space on the market. So cities and facility managers are looking to quality for a competitive edge.

“The demand for quality materials and finish has risen to a hospitality level,” says Eseman. This can be seen in the increased uses of wood and fabric, more attention to lighting, extensive carpeting and upscale wall treatments.

King, though, cautions that there has to be a balance between finish and flexibility. “Upscale décor and service are on the leading edge,” he says, “but there can be too much decoration. Some spaces with permanent carpet and wood floors can be hard for certain shows to use, such as machinery events.”

“The demand for quality goes beyond carpet and wallpaper,” says Eseman. “It has design implications.” Three areas that are getting a lot of design attention include:
• Technology. “Just a few years ago, you used to be glad if you could find somewhere to plug in your laptop on the exhibit floor. Now you expect high-speed lines available throughout the building, as well as videoconferencing and satellite uplinks and downlinks,” says Eseman. Good news for show managers and their customers, especially those in the IT industry, who want access with all the bells and whistles.
• Lobbies. No longer are lobbies passive spaces for registration and entrances to exhibit halls and meeting rooms. “They project a sense of arrival and event. They should be a place to see and be seen,” says Eseman. Design features that achieve this sense of pageantry include color, glass, views, dramatic lighting and open stairs. This means more dramatic registration and special event areas for shows, but some shows can feel lost in the wide, open space.
• Food-and-beverage infrastructure. “Attendees today expect good food and efficient use of their time,” says Grinberg. “At the new Boston Convention Center, food operations are critical to the operation of the building. Kitchens must support ballrooms, meeting rooms and be accessible to the exhibit floor because show organizers don’t want their attendees leaving the building.” Some new centers are also adding food courts to serve attendees and capture additional revenue, he says.

3. Smaller footprints
“Cities are running out of land,” says McLean. Whether architects are designing an expansion or an entirely new center, they have to fit more space onto a smaller footprint. “We’re designing vertically. We used to try to build exhibit halls on grade, but now we have to stack the space and put them on several levels,” he says. The Washington,
D. C., Convention Center, for instance, has prime exhibit space on two levels. The Washington State Convention Center in Seattle has exhibit halls on the fourth level.
Although stacking may be necessary, King says, “There are definite downsides.” The space is harder to sell because show managers are leery of spreading their event over multiple floors, often with good reason, he says. “Even if it’s supposed to be prime space, it can be like trying to sell the back corner of a dungeon.”

More complex planning is required for tight urban contexts. The entire building must blend into the neighborhood. Docks, ramps, freight elevators and storage have to be hidden. “Older centers were built on the edges of downtown. They didn’t have to be user friendly. Now there’s no back door,” says Eseman.

4. Space distribution
Changes in the exhibit and meeting industry have led to changes in the way floor space is distributed.

For example, more meeting space is being allocated closer to the exhibit floor. “There’s a trend for more breakout sessions,” says King. “But it’s critical that attendees stay close to the exhibit floor.” Reflecting the quality trend, the meeting rooms tend to be more upscale with fixed walls. And there’s more demand for luxuriously furnished boardrooms.

In addition, mega-ballrooms are becoming the norm. “Thirty-five thousand to 40,000 square feet with 25- to 30-foot ceilings used to be a huge ballroom,” says Eseman. “Now we’re seeing 60,000-square-foot ballrooms with 35- and 40-foot ceilings.” Washington, D. C., features a 60,000-square-foot ballroom and similar ballrooms are planned for Orlando, FL, and New Orleans. The aim is to design spaces that are ornamental enough for social functions and entertainment but flexible enough for exhibits and meetings.

More than design
“An innovation I’d like to see is cities and owners setting aside enough money in their capital budgets for replacement and maintenance,” says Grinberg. “They need to do that to protect their investment.”

King agrees. “Buildings have a lifecycle. Technology becomes obsolete very quickly. Ownership groups must set aside money for replacement. Deferring maintenance only costs more in the long run.”

As facilities evolve to meet the needs of exhibitors and attendees, convention center design and maintenance is critical to the success of future shows. But funding these projects may prove difficult in the near future as cities struggle to prove the value of conventions to local voters and government officials.

Patricia D. Sherman is a freelance writer and editor based in Dallas. She can be reached at wrsherman@hotmail.com.

Chris Eseman, AIA, Partner, LMN Architects in Seattle, has been practicing for 27 years and designing convention centers for 13 years. LMN projects include: the Hawaii Convention Center; Washington State Convention and Trade Center expansion; Cincinnati Convention Center; and Los Angeles Convention Center expansion.

Don Grinberg, FAIA, Principal Architect/Director, Convention Center Architecture, HNTB Corp., Boston, has been designing convention centers with HNTB for 25 years. HNTB projects include: the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center; Rhode Island Convention Center; Ontario, CA, Convention Center; San Diego Convention Center ;and Bartle Hall in Kansas City, MO.

C. Andrew McLean, FAIA, Senior Principal with TVS and Associates, Atlanta, has designed convention centers for 27 years. His first project assignment with TVS was the initial phase of the Georgia World Congress. Recent projects include the Pennsylvania Convention Center; Washington, D.C., Convention Center; McCormick Place West and South Hall expansions in Chicago; and Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.
 

EXPO asked a panel of experts — architects who have been designing convention centers for a combined total of more than 65 years — to identify 10 convention centers with trend-setting designs. Here are the facilities they chose (listed in alphabetical order):
1. Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. “The exhibit hall is the central architectural idea of the structure. It’s a very powerful space,” says Don Grinberg. “The design is basically symmetrical, affording an excellent distribution of meeting rooms to the exhibit hall.”
2. Hong Kong Convention Center. The way the footprint issues were dealt with in one of the densest cities in the world has influenced the design of urban convention centers in the United States, says Andrew McLean.
3. Lucerne Culture and Convention Center, Switzerland. Chris Eseman praises this center for defining the urban core. “This project incorporates a very rich program, including convention facilities, an auditorium, a museum of art and a concert hall — all combined under a dramatic roof.”
4. McCormick Place. Chicago’s vast meeting and exhibit complex is unmatched, and its flexibility and service level are cited as benchmarks. Grinberg praises the highly functional back-of-house and the layout of exhibit halls. It’s also a focus for activity in an underutilized part of downtown Chicago.
5. Ontario, CA, Convention Center. “This is a good example of a civic building in a smaller market. The design is a response to the climate — white, lots of sun shading, entrances protected from the wind, controlled use of fenestration (the arrangement of windows and doors in the building),” says Grinberg.
6. Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Eseman says theatrical techniques enhance the sense of arrival. “A 500-foot wall of stainless steel fabric reflects and frames the landscape and sky by day. At night, it’s a backdrop for lights projecting images that convey the themes of the show within.”
7. Rhode Island Convention Center. “This is a successful example of a vertically-designed center. It handles multiple occupancies well,” says Grinberg. “It fits in with the historic context, but doesn’t imitate it.”
8. San Diego Convention Center. This center is praised for its marriage of design and functionality. It easily accommodates groups of varying sizes. The design captures the nautical feel of San Diego, says Grinberg, and the original building and expansion have achieved a successful balance.
9. Washington, D. C. Convention Center. “It’s a good example of stacked layouts and dressed-up mega-ballrooms. In terms of technology and finish, the ballroom is very special,” says McLean.
10. Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The downtown Seattle building “sets new standards for co-development, incorporating retail spaces, parking, a 400-room hotel, an 18-story office building and a museum in its footprint,” says Eseman.