Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre by Joint Venture Architects Woods Bagot and NHArchitecture

Conference centres can be horrible, soulless places with dark, windowless lecture halls and endless monotone furnishings. Plain and utilitarian. Designed for high turnover practical durability and nothing more. But this is no ordinary conference centre. The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre was envisaged and built in an attempt to transcend these traditional convention centre stereotypes. And transcend it does. This PPP (Private Public Partnership) venture between the State Government of Victoria and the Plenary Group has delivered a building that truly belongs to the public and cultural life of Melbourne.

Triangular in shape, the building represents three figurative and chronological stages in the city’s life: colonial, developing, and speculative. The distinctive 18-metre façade also allows a glimpse to activity within the centre, while creating a light-filled foyer with views across the Yarra River, and transforming the Centre into a fulcrum point for the newly-expanding Docklands precinct to the north. Inside the foyer, the major focal point is the outer wall of the auditorium: a three-dimensional mosaic of angled wooden panels; 8,400 sq m of timber sourced exclusively from 56 sustainably harvested Australian Spotted Gum trees (yes, that’s 56 individual trees). Behind this lies the heart of the project, the fan-shaped Plenary Hall. This auditorium is the ultimate flexible conference facility, with 5,625 seats that can be configured into various tiered arrangements, or completely (and automatically) folded away to leave a large flat floor area, ideal for banquets or exhibitions. An additional Banquet Hall provides capacity for another 1,500 delegates, and there is approximately 7,500 sq m of large and medium-sized meeting rooms, as well as public prefunctin foyers, back of house facilities, VIP and speaker rooms, green rooms, a business centre, press room, prayer room, medical centre, concierge and luggage rooms. And best of all, the delivery and logistics services re diverted underground, leaving the above-ground floors free for maximum utilization.

The building façade itself only has three facets, but the consultation process was far more multi-faceted: a many-faced project in itself. Regular meetings with Victoria’s urban design advisors, an independent review by the State Architect (initially John Denton, and later Geoffrey London), coordination with the State Department of Planning and Community Development, among others, doesn’t even come close to half the story.

But the jumping through hoops was driven by positive purposes, and as a result the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre is a ‘world’s best practice’ design; the first-ever 6-Star Green Star environmental rating for a convention centre; and has the approval of four government ministries (and two State Architects); as well as complying with various council, infrastructure, and heritage requirements. It also means that the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre has some truly special heritage features, giving it a sense of local context, history, and character, so often lacking in other conference centres. Most notably,Woods Bagot and NHArchitecture worked with the National Trust and Heritage Victoria to reinstate maritime components within the site, which falls under a maritime precinct Heritage Overlay. An existing pump house facility was incorporated into the building in toto – enclosed so as to become a point of interest – and Cargo Shed Two, which is protected under the Heritage Overlay, was even fully dismantled and reassembled once construction of the Centre was complete.

As for the Centre’s 6-Star Green Star Rating, it did push up the initial outlay on the project, but with sincere anticipation of long-term returns. To maximise the quality of the indoor environment, 90% of the GFA incorporates alternative and non-conventional ventilation – including displacement ventilation, chilled beams, and mixed mode solutions – and 90% of the GFA air conditioning systems are either 100% outside air, with no circulation or with CO2 sensors. The floorplan and glazing has been designed so that 30% of the GFA achieves a daylight factor of not less than 2.5%, and will maintain a stable, comfortable internal temperature for 98% of the year. With water becoming a permanent issue in Victoria, conservation was a key factor, with features such as blackwater mining – the first of its kind in a public area of this scale – to reduce water usage, as well as AAA-rated fittings, waterless urinals, and recycled water to offset all water flushing demand. A solar hot water array entirely offsets the energy consumption associated with the Convention Centre amenities, and lightspill is entirely eliminated by ensuring that no beam of light shines beyond the site without first illuminating a surface within it. Pollution is also kept to a minimum inside, with furniture selected

for its low environmental impact, low VOC paints and floor coverings, sustainable timber as featured in the main foyer, and a whole-of-life agreement for all the carpet used, to ensure that it is reduced back to raw material and reused once it is no longer needed.

If the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre is anything to go by, then gone are the days of the utilitarian convention centre as nothing more than a modified sports stadium. Gone are the days of the plainer-than-beige conference facilities, and the featureless grey aesthetics. This project is a ‘green’ landmark for convention centres and large public architecture in general: proof that conferences (and the buildings in which they take place) need no longer be a bore.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Peter Bennetts

1. The timber mosaic façade – in truth the exterior of the main auditorium – dominates the lobby, creating a place in which patrons wish to congregate and interact. 2. Even from the outside, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre clearly transcends the stereotype for this genre of building. 3. The edgy angles and dark façade – quite reminiscent of Federation Square – help to identify this building as truly belonging to the culture and architecture of Melbourne. 4. The interior was conceived with a mind to avoiding the monotonous, utilitarian interior design commonly associated with high-use convention and exhibition centres. 5. The main auditorium can seat over 5,600 for one function, or the seats can be automatically rearranged to form separate function spaces.