Woods Bagot Unveils Towering Shijiazhuang Convention Centre

Drawing on the success of their proposal for the Melbourne Convention Center, architecture firm Woods Bagot recently won the award to design the Shijiazhuang International Exhibition and Convention Centre for the government of China. The large exhibition and convention center will be composed of various geometrically-shaped exhibition halls surrounding an iconic tower with a hotel, office space and apartments. Located in the coastal region of the city of Shijiazhuang, the new convention center is expected to revitalize the area while serving as a landmark example of green architecture.

The design for the new convention center seeks to find a harmonious balance between the busy venue and the surrounding landscape. Additionally, Woods Bagot sought to bring together the best of the worlds of art and architecture, an endeavor that is most noticeable in the facade of the iconic tower. The center of the building is decorated with a filed pattern reminiscent of traditional Chinese ‘broken ice’ screens. This pattern is continued throughout the rest of the complex on the roofs of the exhibition halls as well as in the landscaping.


Located right next to the mouth of the river, the 190,000 sq m convention center master plan relies on incorporating “intelligent, ecologically sound, technically viable and culturally iconic building forms.” Sustainable design is at the forefront of the plans for the structure as is typical of Woods Bagot’s work, although the details of the green building strategies incorporated are still undefined.

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