International Convention Centre, Birmingham, England

The International Convention Centre, opened to the public in April 1991, comprises eleven halls on a site adjacent to the city centre. One of the eleven halls is a major new Symphony Hall for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra which is also used for conferences and which enlivens the convention centre through usage by the public as well as conference delegates. While many smaller halls are rectangular, the larger halls are typically non-orthogonal in plan. The principal exhibition hall is octagonal, and the ends of the Symphony Hall are curved. The siting is ideal in that the building complex forms the closing end to a major new square built to celebrate the centenary of Birmingham. However, the site imposed major engineering and building problems due to adjacent road traffic and a main line railway tunnel underneath.