Architects:gmp

Area :48800 m²

Year :2020

Photographs :CreatAR

Design : Meinhard von Gerkan and Stephan Schütz with Nicolas Pomränke

Competition Lead : Patrick Pfleiderer, Stefan Hornscheidt

Competition Team : Jan-Peter Deml, Christian Machnacki, He Fan, Xie Li, Xie Fang

Project Lead Detailed Design : Patrick Pfleiderer

Deputy Project Lead Detailed Design : Stefan Hornscheidt, Xie Li

Detailed Design Team : Marta Busnelli, Jan-Peter Deml, Reibun Funaki, Christa Hillebrand, Christian Machnacki, Andreas Maue, Thomas Munke, Jens Standke, Tang Zihong, Matthias Wiegelmann, Zhang Chi, Zhang Qiyi, Joanna Zielinska, Thilo Zehme, Zhao Yihui

Project Management In China : Li Ling, Zhu Lei

Partner Practice In China : China Academy of Building Research

Structural Engineering : schlaich bergermann und partner sbp, Stuttgart/Shanghai

Facade Design : DS-Plan, Stuttgart/Shanghai

Landscape Architecture : WES, Berlin

Lighting Design : Schlotfeldt Licht, Hamburg/Berlin

Client : Qingdao Conson Hongdao International Conference and Exhibition Center Co., Ltd.

City : Qingdao

Country : China

With a total of 14 halls and 140,000 m2 of exhibition space, the new conference and exhibition center is one of China’s largest exhibition complexes. Its symmetrical layout designed in the form of an H by the architects von Gerkan, Marg, and Partners (gmp) links the urbanity of the Hongdao district in the north with the coastal landscape of Jiaozhou Bay in the south. Its structure and design combine the logistically complex exhibition area into a single unit. The ensemble’s centerpiece is the 40-meter high entrance hall with its curved membrane roof that has a 93-meter wide span.

Located on the coast of the Yellow Sea, Qingdao in the east of China is one of the country’s most desirable cities. As part of the growth around Jiaozhou Bay, Hongdao is being developed in order to strengthen the metropolis economically as a convention center and cultural city. In this context, the Hongdao International Conference & Exhibition Center (HICEC) is an important component among the new institutions that include the Olympic Sports Center as well as the Science Museum, which was also designed by gmp.