Steel-bubble in front of the city

Dalian is a major seaport at the southern tip of Liaodong Peninsula in the north of China. The city has become in recent years a financial, shipping and logistic centre for Northeast Asia. With 3.5 million inhabitants the city of Dalian belongs to the group of fast growing urban centres in China and is the second biggest city in Liaoning Province. For almost half of the last century the city was occupied, first by the Russians (1895–1905), followed by the Japanese (1905–1945). The city is currently undergoing a wave of transformation on coastal brownfield and reclaimed land, which will entirely change the city’s face within the next decade. The dislocation of the container port and the establishment of an international port for cruise ships, together with a new Central Business District on reclaimed land, extents the historic city to the shoreline. The new International Conference Centre by Coop Himmelblau created the terminal point of the extension of the city’s main axis. 

The hybrid building consists of a conference centre, a theatre and opera house, a exhibition centre and secondary functions, all covered under one canopy. The grand theatre with a capacity of 1,600 seats and the adjacent conference hall with 2,500 seats are positioned in the core of the building.

The smaller conference spaces are arranged around this core. Most of the conference rooms have direct daylight from above. The areas between the rectangular functional boxes establish an informal space for meeting, chill out and catering. The main entrance from the seaside corresponds with the future development, including the connection to the future cruise terminal. 

The structural concept is based on a sandwich structure composed of two elements: the “table” and the roof. Both elements are steel space frames with depths ranging between five and eight meters. The whole structure is elevated seven meters above ground level and is supported by 14 vertical composite steel and concrete cores.

A doubly ruled façade structure connects the two layers of table and roof, creating a load-bearing shell structure. The application of new design and simulation techniques, the knowledge of local shipbuilders to bend massive steel plates, and the consumption of more than 40,000 tons of steel enables spans of over 85 meters and cantilevering of over 40 meters.

The different halls and the circulation with stairways criss-crossing the space, gladded in a homogeneous polygonal skin, creates a cool atmosphere with surprising vistas across the heterogeneous interior. The outer skin is wrapped around the boxes for the functions and creates the organic form. The openings for the daylight are integrated in the skin and add to the overall appearance of a well-fortified castle in the form of a silver metallic deformed spaceship, landed in front of the uniform high-rise buildings in the back. Soon after it was finished the building sparkled in the sunlight. But with reference to other high-tech buildings in China, it is obvious that the intended quality of the International Conference Centre in Dalian has to be proofed after some years in operation.

Monsoon influenced humid continental climate in summer and the dry winters with influence of the Siberian anticyclone, will surly leave their traces on the façade. Pollution, superficial execution and careless maintenance most probably add to a fast alteration, not intended by the architects.
Eduard Kögel