Architect: SOM, Chicago
Multimedia, acoustics, IT: Shen Milsom & Wilke
Size: 517,000 square feet
Completion: September 2006

Convention centers must support the technology needs of many different types of users—from neurosurgeons meeting to discuss scientific advances, to toy manufacturers showing their wares, and everything in between.

Water, wood, and natural light make the new Virginia Beach Convention Center bright and welcoming for all types of visitors. An expansion of the existing Pavilion Convention complex, the new center includes expanded exhibit hall space, pre-function areas, meeting rooms, conference areas, and a 31,000-square-foot ballroom.

Technology is supported in all spaces, thanks to a robust IT infrastructure system for voice, data, multimedia, television distribution, wireless LAN, and building management. The network is easily expandable to provide greater connectivity for future needs, as well. This flexibility is essential in convention centers, which host groups with a wide range of needs.

A central multimedia control room provides space for an operator who can oversee this technology “traffic.” There is also a central recording room where audio and video signals from any of the areas within the convention center may be recorded, edited, and copied for distribution.

Good acoustic design is challenging in convention centers as well. The exhibit halls are usually large and noisy; the seminar rooms are next to each other, allowing sound from one presentation to leak into adjacent rooms. Shen Milsom & Wilke provided acoustic isolation for these areas and quieted mechanical systems. The also developed appropriate interior finishes to control reverberation and noise buildup in the exhibition hall, as well as the ballroom and boardroom.

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