Convention Center Architects

What does the future hold with respect to convention center design? M&C spoke with a number of high-profile architects who have recently debuted venues and expansions, both domestically and abroad, and who are hard at work on projects that will open over the next several years. What emerged through their philosophies and approaches are a number of related trends, beginning with the relationship of the building to the destination and its residents. These trends will define not only the appearance of new convention centers but how these buildings will be used, by attendees and locals alike.  

MICHAEL LOCKWOOD, principal
Populous, Kansas City, Mo.

At Populous, Kansas City, Mo.-based principal Michael Lockwood wants to connect convention centers with their communities by changing the dynamic of the design process. "As architects," he says, "we typically come into the equation once a city has decided that we've got X amount of dollars to spend on X amount of space. But we try to get out of that traditional position, and help cities understand the bigger picture of the destination, of the district, how the convention center can be conceived of in a much bigger way."

To do so, Populous holds an annual gathering to which a varied group is invited, including planners, building operators, and convention and visitor bureau officials. "Sometimes we just sit back and listen," says Lockwood. "We just get them together and let them talk about what it is they all want. Because they don't necessarily have that ability in their own towns to get together in a friendly, open-minded kind of way, to workshop and rise above their day-to-day requirements and think bigger about the destination." For the projects awarded to Populous, discussions of this nature result in Lockwood and his team being able to create "a more nimble facility that accommodates more city interests."

As for trends, "we're seeing a much bigger push toward customer experience," says Lockwood. That translates to more hotel-like hospitality concerns. "People's expectations are higher. They are no longer willing to downgrade their experience to go into a building to have a meeting. If anything, your convention experience should be on par with or better than a hotel experience, or a sporting event -- or going out to a great district in your own hometown."

Designing convention centers with that in mind is fun, says Lockwood. "It starts to break down the formulaic type of 'meeting and exhibit and ballroom' style that typically defines convention centers." And that leads to an increased focus on lobbies, prefunction and outdoor spaces -- how they may be used for meetings, and also how they interact with more traditional meeting spaces. Lockwood points to the Populous design work at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio as one example.

"We were told to create 20 meeting rooms, at 2,000 square feet each," says the architect. "We designed the meeting rooms to view down into a really large public lobby. They're dispersed around this public space to make each feel like it has a unique address. You can come into this cool courtyard space and say, 'That's my room up there,' as opposed to looking down a long corridor and saying, 'My room is one of these.'"

CHRIS ESEMAN, principal
MARK REDDINGTON, partner
LMN Architects, Seattle

"More now than ever, convention centers are deeply integrated into the life, culture and urban setting in which they exist," says Mark Reddington of LMN Architects in Seattle. It's a trend that continues to gather momentum, he adds, and it can manifest itself in a variety of ways, such as via the addition of publicly accessible restaurants and retail establishments. The Vancouver Convention Center, an LMN design that debuted three years ago, has restaurants and retail space, as well as a seaplane airport and plans for a marina.

Perhaps more significant to the communities surrounding convention centers are the civic spaces that are being added, such as the public plazas and promenade at the Vancouver facility. At the Cleveland Convention Center, another LMN project that opened last year, most of the facility's roof is a public park in the middle of the city, an updated version of the outdoor gathering space the site has been for the past century.

One important factor driving such designs is the need to maximize the efficient use of urban space. "Convention centers are too big to be just a building," says Reddington. "They really need to engage other activities relevant to their urban settings." While providing spaces that can be used and appreciated by the public, the goal is to provide to meeting attendees a window -- quite literally -- into the life of that city.

While great windowed walls aren't entirely new, what's trending is the increased flexibility and usefulness of the space upon which they shed light. For a recent event at the Vancouver Convention Center, for example, the prefunction area was used as meeting space, and the meeting space was used for registration, coat check and prefunction support, notes LMN Architects principal Chris Eseman. "Planners wanted their delegates to feel connected to the city," he says. "They wanted to be out in this glassy, open prefunction area, even for their meeting."

Anticipating such uses for the space was a key part of the design, adds LMN principal Chris Eseman. "Being able to anticipate all the ways spaces can be used and making sure they're large enough for different types of configurations is really important."

ROBERT SVEDBERG, principal
tvsdesign, Atlanta

Robert Svedberg, tvsdesign principal, believes convention centers should tell a story. "One of the things we're doing with clients is understanding the destination story, and trying to tell that story in a very sophisticated way with the design of the building," he says. Doing so -- as tvs recently did with Nashville's Music City Center -- invites residents to embrace the building, and provides a richer, destination-specific experience for attendees. "If you're investing this kind of money in one of these facilities, stepping back and looking at it as a brand exercise is essential," says Svedberg.

The Nashville facility's wavy roof recalls both the rolling hills of the region and the lyrical flow of music, conceptually speaking, Svedberg explains. To take another example, the design of Detroit's Cobo Center, an ongoing renovation on which Svedberg's team is working, employs forms and technologies from automotive design in the new exterior to give the building a sense of motion.

Destination officials have become far more interested in the subtleties of storytelling and the creation of a rich visitor experience than they are in immediately recognizable buildings, according to Svedberg. "We used to hear clients talk about iconic buildings," he recounts. "When we see RFPs now, we see the word unique a lot more than iconic. I think that's a really important shift. Sometimes you need the dramatic, iconic building as a sales tool, but what you need to stay top of mind is a really rich experience that is specific to each destination."