In the Austin Convention Center’s 400,000-square-foot expansion, reception halls, meeting rooms, pre-function spaces and circulation towers are expressed as individual elements joined by entries, porches and terraces. The design creates an appropriate scale along pedestrian-oriented street, with larger volumes of the exhibition halls and ballrooms tucked behind. The various concourses culminate in an elegant corner pavilion that is the new “front door” for the facility. Its impeccably detailed curtain wall integrates an innovative approach to structure with careful attention to sun control and natural ventilation. The pavilion’s tour de force is a large glass screen wall with photovoltaic panels on the west face, the product of a collaboration between lead designer Larry Speck and sculptor Jamie Carpenter.
