Rimini Convention Centre

“The new Rimini Convention Center,” explains architect Volkwin Marg of GMP, “integrates into an important urban context that is the object of an overall redevelopment project.” Amongst the 15 most important contemporary architecture firms in the world, GMP Studio also designed the new Rimini Fairgrounds and will be coordinating a new music auditorium and the new landscape design for the area. The Convention Centre is a functional modular design of the conference and exhibition spaces that make it possible to host numerous different events simultaneously. The first space is laid out on two floors including the large 4,000m² entrance foyer that looks out over the sea.A striking ‘oyster-shell’ amphitheatre is located on the first floor, offering fixed seating for 1,600 with the option of dividing into two 800-seat auditoriums. The shell shape reflects the location, references the sea, the entrepreneurial heritage of the Rimini area and elicits Renaissance architecture, which is always a strong presence in Volkwin Marg’s concepts. The second space is located immediately behind the first and is connected via the foyer and contains the main conference hall with 4,700 seats. This can also be divided using soundproof moveable partitions to create up to eight autonomous rooms plus a range of other smaller conference rooms and break out areas. The real organic beauty of the Centre is to be found inside with the clean and contemporary American black cherry flooring. After dismissing an original idea of using ‘industrial’ flooring made from recycled wood, architect Volkwin Marg chose a different route that adopted a timber that was warmer, more refined and more eye-catching. “Initially, the architects were looking for a product that was easy to source but still had unique characteristics,” says Maurizio Bernardi, of Adria Legno Service (San Clemente/Rimini), the company that planned, prepared and finally installed the floors. “We stepped in with the idea of obtaining the best raw materials available on the market, respecting cost and quality requirements, to find a product that was ‘pseudo-cheap’ but of great visual impact.