Virginia Beach Convention Center
A recent Architectural Record/Business Week Innovation Award winner, the Virginia Beach Convention Center was designed to reference the history of the beach district and support the city’s plan to redefine itself as a year-round destination. The center combines state-of-the-art technologies with cost-effective materials to create a new kind of convention experience.
The 529,000-square-foot Virginia Beach Convention Center’s design was inspired by its function as a central gathering space and its location in the city’s beach district. The center was envisioned as a ‘container’ for convention and exhibition activities, bringing together people, products and ideas.
Each function was clearly defined within the space, from a 150-foot meeting tower and observation deck to the building’s truck docks and service areas. Meeting ‘pods’ along the building’s main atrium allow for the incorporation of natural light into a maximum number of interior spaces without any sacrifice to function. The building also recalls the local landscape by incorporating natural elements, including reflecting pools, and a “front porch” which provides a shaded outdoor space adjacent to the building lobby.
The center incorporates state-of-the-art technology, including a 360-foot video wall which helped spur the development of a video art program within the city. The main ballroom combines a lighting system that can draw on over 17 million color patterns with sculpted forms and rich materials, likening the space to the interior of a violin.
