OMA‘s design for the International Conference and Exchange Center (IFEC) in Shenzhen has been chosen as the winner of a design competition. The building combines large scale conference facilities with a 400-room hotel and public program. Located at the waterfront of Qianhai, the New District in the Pearl River Delta, IFEC will form a beacon for the ships sailing along the 21st century maritime silk road.
The complex functions as a connector between Qianhai’s future main public transport hub and a waterfront park, which links the various Qianhai districts through a shared public and cultural program. OMA’s design for IFEC comprises of three distinct volumes: the conference center is shaped into stepped volumes with terraces facing the park. The hotel, towering over the conference center, is a three-dimensional polyhedron and the third volume contains hotel amenities and public program and is oriented to the center of the business district.
A large urban atrium brings public domain to the heart of the complex, with a foyer for both the conference center and the hotel. The urban atrium can be separately programmed for cultural events, strengthening the relation between the professional domain and public life in Qianhai.
IFEC will be the fourth OMA building currently developed in Shenzhen. The competition entry was a collaboration between OMA and CCDI. OMA’s design team is led by Chris van Duijn together with project architect Kellen Huang.