client Henan Airport Construction & Development Co. | dates 2024-2025 |
architect RSHP | Executive Architect Tongji Architectural Design |
photographer Tian FangFang | project team Keith Bradshaw, James Fuentes McGreevy, Justyna Bork, Arjun Mistry, Miray Altındis, Martin Firera Alessandri |
Located adjacent to the international airport within the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, the Central China International Convention and Exhibition Centre is a major new destination for business, commerce and events.
The project’s scale, complexity and ambitious one-year construction programme demanded a highly coordinated approach. Working closely with RSHP’s architectural team, we designed, tested, and refined innovative lighting details that were integrated into the modular structural components and fabricated off-site, meeting the need for speed while maintaining the highest levels of quality and consistency.
A unified, connected experience
The architectural design centres on a 1.7km elevated concourse connecting three entrance pavilions and providing access to sixteen exhibition halls, extending through to a Conference Centre and Hotel. Our lighting approach considers this central spine as three interconnected vertical layers, each operating at a different scale while contributing to a unified experience.
At the architectural scale, uplighting to the roof wings reveals the structure and frames it as a striking large-scale architectural feature. Lit in simple soft white for everyday operation, the design includes built-in flexibility for both partial and full-scale event activations.
At the urban scale, the Level 02 concourse creates a clear pedestrian axis. Low-level light integrated into benches, planters and travelators is complemented by elegant columns and subtle landscape accents, supporting linear views through the building and down into the exhibition halls.
At Level 01, the atmosphere becomes warmer and more intimate. Softly illuminated soffits, staircases and landscape elements create a relaxed hospitality environment, with light spilling from retail and F&B spaces further activating the space.
A warm welcome
The lighting for the three circular entrance pavilions, Conference Centre and Conference Hotel employs a consistent visual language, balancing identity and architectural enhancement with a welcoming experience at ground level.
Highlighting key vertical surfaces and architectural features such as ceilings and staircases draws the eye, visually dissolving the perception of the glass façades and reinforcing a sense of easy indoor/outdoor flow.
Within the entrance pavilions, a bespoke central conical pendant, formed from a glowing ring with a series of intermediate reflectors, reads as a sculptural architectural element by day. After dark, it becomes a dynamic visual feature. Colour-changing capability allows the pendants to synchronise with the wider lighting animation, reinforcing the sense of a unified design.
A landmark from land and air
The roofscape was conceived as a fifth façade, responding to the convention centre’s proximity to the international airport and the client brief for a high-impact identity from all approaches.
Seen from the flight path, the animated roof becomes a large-scale visual expression of the activity below. Waves of light ripple across the building, creating a metaphor for the positive effects of commerce, development and innovation.
The embedded low-resolution LED matrix can accommodate a range of content, from slow-moving blue gradients and wave pulses to seasonal celebrations and event-specific animations. The format is deliberately calibrated to the distance of observation, allowing the animation to remain legible while maintaining a refined quality.
The circular ETFE roofs of the entrance pavilions are also illuminated at their vertices, adding movement and direction to their diagrid geometry. Together, they express a sense of light gathering, flowing and radiating across the roofscape, reflecting the energy, exchange and connectivity at the heart of the convention centre.