OMA to design Shanghai's Lujiazui Exhibiton Center

OMA appears to be rolling up their sleeves before the holidays: last Friday, we published new details on their Norra Tornen twin towers in Stockholm, and now we're kicking the week off with a recent competition win in China, the Lujiazui Exhibiton Center at the banks of the mighty Huangpu River in Shanghai.

Conceptualized as a "spatial armature," the exhibition center will rise on the grounds of the former Shanghai Shipyard and aims for completion by the end of 2015.

Read on for first images and more details we've received from OMA.

Project description:

"The Lujiazui Exhibiton Centre is located on the northern and most recent development of Shanghai Pudong, along the Huangpu River, one of the most photographed waterfronts in the world. The project site, occupying the former ‘Shanghai Shipyard’, has a long history of marine industry. The new Exhibition Centre is positioned on the ramp of a former ship cradle and provides a concentrated event space within the surrounding financial district."

"OMA conceived the Exhibition Centre as a “spatial armature,” suspended above a plaza and connected to another exhibition space beneath the ramp. The building organizes the open space, adding new programmatic opportunities for film screenings, fashion shows, and concerts. The new volume transforms the existing ramp into a large-scale theatrical space for events while the covered plaza under the elevated box can be used for more intimate happenings."

"The building’s materiality and architecture establish a dialogue with the site’s industrial past; a mysterious object wrapped in a metallic mesh exposes its steel structure, echoing the unfinished ship hulls which used to populate the site.

OMA was appointed by Lujiazui Central Financial District (Phase II) Development Corporation to design and execute the building in November 2014. The Exhibition Centre is expected to be opened to public at the end of 2015."

Project details:

Shanghai LuJiaZui Exhibition Centre
Status: Schematic Design
Client: LuJiaZui Central Financial District (Phase II) Development Corporation
Location: Shanghai, China
Site: LujiaZui, Pudong
Program: 1500m2 - Exhibition, Retail

Competition team
Partners in charge: David Gianotten, Michael Kokora
Associate in charge: Paolo Caracini
Project Architect: Ricky Suen
Team: Paul Feeney, Vincent McIlduff, Yuye Peng, Tony Yang, with Mafalda Brandao, Thomas Brown, Gemawang
Swaribathoro, Stella Tong, Mavis Wong, Shu Yang

COLLABORATORS
Structure Consultancy: Ramboll
Façade Consultancy: Front