SOM’s expansion and renovation of the Adelaide Convention Centre bolsters the city’s standing as an international destination while providing local residents with a new civic landmark. Built over an active rail yard, the facility shares a site with several prominent venues, including the State Parliament Building, and reconnects a historic district to Adelaide’s scenic waterfront.

SOM added a new 4,800-guest exhibition and banquet facility with easily reconfigurable spaces, doubling the size of the convention center and maximizing the number of simultaneous events it can host. The lobby features a celebratory, soaring glass facade suspended from a classic shell-form roof. By using low-e glass, the curtain wall helps mitigate solar heat gain during the hot summer months.

Visitor circulation was enhanced through the addition of a light-filled atrium that links the new and existing buildings and offers uninterrupted views of the River Torrens.