With their design for the Tianjin Exhibition Centre, the
architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) won the 1st prize of an international design
competition. To win the prize the practice had to prevail against competition
from FUKSAS, HHP, NBBJ/BIAD and others.

In addition to Shanghai and Guangzhou, Tianjin is now the
third city where an exhibition centre of international importance will be
built. With a total square area of 1.2 million square metres and dedicated
exhibition floor space of 400,000 square metres, one of the world’s largest
exhibition centres will be created in the east of China over the next few
years.

The site is located at Tianjin Avenue, the main traffic
artery which links Tianjin’s historic centre with the so-called Binhai
Development Area at the coast of the Yellow Sea. To the north, the site borders
the river Haihe which is instrumental in shaping the character of the city. The
exhibition ground’s central access avenue runs between these two poles and thus
generates a spatial connection between the traffic artery and the waterway.

The design concept proposes two almost identical construction
phases. They both consist of a central entrance hall roofed over by filigree
canopies, 8 exhibition halls on both sides and a main central thoroughfare that
connects the entrance halls with the exhibition halls. The functions of the
exhibition centre are rounded off with open-air exhibition space, a congress
centre, hotels, offices and administration facilities.

The entire exhibition floor space is located on one level.
The central access avenue is elevated 9 m above the exhibition and road level.
Access to the exhibition halls and the congress centre is from here. The
exhibition halls, which are arranged in a linear layout with a floor space of
12,500 square metres each, can be used separately or combined with an adjoining
hall to provide a total of 25,000 square metres of space.

The shed-type roof structure of the halls allows the ingress
of daylight. With a display of gardens, open air areas and restaurants, the
circulation areas provide a convivial atmosphere.