Header: Virgile Simon Bertrand
The brand new Capital International Exhibition & Convention Centre (or simply CIECC), by Zaha Hadid Architects, is located in the Shunyi District of Beijing, next to Capital International Airport. It was completed and inaugurated in February 2025, when it started to be used as a mixed-use venue with nine exhibition halls, three reception halls, a conference centre designed for 9,000 delegates and a 410-room hotel. The project is a recent accolade of the BLT Built Design Awards, having won the “Architectural Design – Mixed-Use Building” category.
The space
The CIECC’s layout revolves around a central courtyard, sheltered and adorned by landscaped gardens, that links the nine exhibition halls. This north-south axis is seen as a sort of spine that simplifies navigating a space that is at times chaotic due to multiple overlapping events.
Above the courtyard, enclosed bridges (known also as “ribbons”) connect the exhibition halls to the conference centre and the hotel, so visitors can move between them without having to step outside. The conference centre and hotel are located at the north end of the site and open onto a public square. This space was designed to be used for events and extra space during busy periods, so the main public arrival area is focused there.
Design and materials
The building’s design is curved, with fluid lines rather than straight, rectilinear blocks. The exterior is a pleated façade in a deep copper colour, with large windows set back in deep recesses and a roof of a composite system made from repeated symmetric geometries. Insulated and lightweight, this material spans over the exhibition halls to create column-free spaces that are perfect for quick changeovers between different event layouts. The build used modular fabrication and construction, which the architects say reduced development time, capital investment and operating costs.
Sustainability
The project has achieved the highest certification under China’s Green Building Program, as the designers added smart building management, hybrid ventilation using natural ventilation supported by high-efficiency HVAC, rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling and on-site photovoltaics, aiming to reduce energy use and demand on the municipal water supply.
The team behind the project
The CIECC was designed by the prestigious studio Zaha Hadid Architects, with Patrik Schumacher as lead designer. The Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) acted as executive and local architect and provided structural engineering and MEP consultancy. Local architecture and delivery also involved BIAD Decoration Engineering and Design for the conference centre interior, Beijing E.Scene Art Design for the exhibition interior and Cheng Chung Design for the hotel interior. The China Academy of Building Research handled the façade engineering, with Ecoland as the landscape consultant and AECOM responsible for urban planning. Construction was delivered by the China Construction Second Engineering Bureau and the Beijing Construction Engineering Group.
