Silver Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2024
Zhengzhou Longhu Conference Center
by Fei Hu
- A' Design Award 2024 Silver Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: Fei Hu
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 23,606
- Verification code 535A31FC81 · Verify this award
About Zhengzhou Longhu Conference Center
It is a modern style design with white marble-shaped curves as the main decorative shape of the space, inspired by the feathers of the phoenix, an ancient Chinese auspicious bird. The changes of light and shadow add a lot of detail to this pure space. Several brown metal plates balance the overall tone, and a coffee colored transparent glass curtain wall is used on both sides of the middle corridor on the second floor to increase the variation of light and color. There is a 17 meter high atrium with a bird's eye view of the effect of the white marble lines.
Fei Hu's award-winning Conference Center interior exemplifies the synthesis of parametric design methodology with principles drawn from sacred architectural traditions, creating a secular space that nonetheless evokes the contemplative grandeur historically associated with religious architecture. The designer appears to engage with the phenomenological tradition of architecture, where spatial experience transcends mere function to address profound human needs for orientation, shelter, and transcendence. The ribbed ceiling structure, with its organic flowing curves, suggests dialogue with both Gothic fan vaulting and contemporary computational design, demonstrating how digital tools enable formal complexity that honors historical precedent while achieving previously impossible geometries. Particularly notable is the chromatic strategy employing warm champagne gold at human scale against cool white overhead, a technique that may reference the warmth-gradient theories of architectural phenomenologists who observed how successful spaces often transition from earthly warmth to celestial coolness. The processional quality of the space, with its emphatic central axis and rhythmic bay sequence, invites consideration of how contemporary commercial architecture can accommodate the human need for ceremony and meaningful spatial narrative. The reflective floor surface, capturing ghostly images of the vaulted ceiling, creates a vertical doubling that expands perceived volume while suggesting symbolic resonance with concepts of reflection and contemplation appropriate to a conference venue dedicated to collective deliberation. The integration of lighting as architectural element rather than applied fixture demonstrates sophisticated understanding of how luminosity shapes spatial perception and emotional response. Viewers might contemplate how this interior balances monumental aspiration with welcoming human scale, achieving grandeur without intimidation.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- It is an iconic city landmark, and when completed, the project will become the largest independent pavilion in Zhengzhou, with the ability to host high-level international conferences.
Hu Fei takes Chinese culture as the core concept and the image of dragon and phoenix as the design element. Combined with innovative Oriental Zen design techniques, it presents the image of a national convention center with typical Chinese cultural characteristics and modern and elegant style to the world. - Tags
- Pure, white marble, international, conference center
- Production Technology
- Inside the white marble line is a steel frame structure to ensure that it can be safely fixed on the wall. The top white line is changed to metal plate, and the surface is sprayed with paint with the same texture as marble to ensure the construction safety and effect
- Design Challenge
- The most difficult part of the project was to combine the local traditional culture with the characteristics of the modern conference center in the interior design, which should not only conform to the international mainstream aesthetic, but also express the characteristics of the ancient traditional culture, and match the modern architectural appearance. We have gone through at least 5 rounds of design proposals, and the final draft proposal has basically met the design expectations.
- Project Duration
- The design of the project began in March 2022, formal construction began in June 2023, and it is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, in Zhengzhou, China
- Inspiration
- The phoenix is a mythical bird in ancient Chinese legends, symbolizing auspiciousness, love, and peace. The legend of the phoenix also originated in Zhengzhou, hence the interior design draws inspiration from the phoenix. The atrium spaces on the first, second, and third floors are interconnected vertically. White curved lines reaching up to 16 meters high run through the entire space, expressing the dynamic posture of the phoenix through abstract modern techniques.
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G0E9 ShopDesign Interview about Zhengzhou Longhu Conference Center
The phoenix is a mythical bird from ancient Chinese legends, revered as the king of all birds and symbolizing auspiciousness, love, and peace. Zhengzhou, an important birthplace of Chinese civilization, is also where the legend of the phoenix originated. Therefore, the interior design draws inspiration from the theme of the phoenix. The atrium space on the first, second, and third floors is vertically connected, with white curved lines extending up to 16 meters high across the walls, abstractly depicting the graceful flight of the phoenix in a modern style. This design not only aligns with the solemn and dignified nature of a conference center but also creates a pure, modern, and artistically appealing space.
How to express ancient culture and its positive connotations through modern techniques, especially using modern minimalism to convey Eastern culture, particularly the essence of Zen, is what I particularly aim to achieve.
Let's hope it gets built.
about 4-5 months.
The owner had a vague request and I searched for the most appropriate theme to express it.
I've been trying to find a style that works for me. Looking for inspiration from Eastern culture is something I've been exploring lately.
Tadao Ando，I am fascinated by the mood and light in his works.
Hand sketching, 3d modeling software, etc
Minimalist elements create rich light and shadow.
I have a design team of 3-4 people and I work with professionals all the time.
Technology is the foundation of implementation, the backbone, the drummer of the band.
Yes, we studied the proportions of the design, the materials, and the lighting effects at different times of the day.
The cost and construction process were my biggest challenges.
I hope to let more people see it, whether or not it ultimately gets built.
Stick to the simplest shapes and materials to achieve the most fantastic results.
Grand Interview about Zhengzhou Longhu Conference Center
The phoenix, a divine bird in ancient Chinese mythology, is akin to Aglaea, the goddess in Greek mythology, symbolizing elegance, fortune, and beauty. The most captivating aspect of the phoenix is its posture in flight—free, light, and gracefully dancing with the wind. I sought to capture this moment and make it eternal by using curved white marble lines to portray the form of the phoenix’s fluttering feathers, ultimately assembling them into a grand and emotionally resonant scene.Given the multitude of marble lines, already abundant in form and detail, the use of color needed to be highly restrained. I chose white, representing purity and tranquility. This embodies the essence of Eastern Zen aesthetics: stripping away all excess decoration to create a serene, free, and unencumbered space. At the same time, it exudes a contemporary sense of modernity.
Traditional Chinese culture is the treasure of Oriental culture, containing philosophy and art, and is an important medium and driving force to promote the innovation of interior design. I have read a large number of famous Zen landscape paintings of Tang and Song dynasties, studied the handed down Zen gardens such as Lingyin Temple and Lion Forest, and grasped the essence of Zen aesthetics from the paintings and buildings preserved in ancient times, and then reflected these insights into the design. I believe that traditional culture can provide a continuous source of inspiration for modern design.
If the whole space is white tone, it is undoubtedly risky, because the lack of contrast will appear single, I choose to use coffee-colored glass curtain wall and copper wall on the side of the second floor, it is to break the single tone, increase the level and rhythm of the space. Coffee-colored is actually composed of two materials: transparent glass and copper plate, although the two materials have the same tone, but the texture is completely different. This not only brings rich light and shadow changes, but also does not look cluttered. Meaningful details enhance the overall spatial narrative.
The massive architectural scale indeed posed significant challenges. To ensure the desired outcome, we created 3D models for almost every major scene to refine the proportions and details. After defining the cultural theme, the next challenge was integrating it with modern design concepts to make it accessible and appreciable to people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Striking this balance has been our greatest challenge, and we continuously strive to achieve harmony in every aspect.
1 The section of white marble modeling is an isosceles acute Angle triangle, the long side is 500MM, the short side is 220MM, the spacing is 200MM: The construction process is the internal steel structure, the external marble is fixed on the steel structure by dry hanging, 2 the line shape of the ceiling is the same as the wall, but considering the safety issue, the material is changed to aluminum plate with PVC film of imitation marble texture, because the height is high, so the slight difference between pvc film and marble will not affect the overall effect. 3. All the fire-fighting equipment, sound equipment, lighting equipment, broadcasting equipment and air conditioning equipment on the ceiling are centrally arranged in the 200-wide recess in the middle of each shape. 4 The wall and the ground are provided with a very narrow strip air outlet.
Function has always been the top consideration in the interior design, and attendees take the escalator from the 1st floor lobby to the 3rd floor (the 2nd floor is the office and auxiliary space) to enter the welcome hall. Before entering the conference hall, attendees first enter a stunning white pure space made up of numerous white marble lines. At the same time, you can enjoy the beautiful lake view outside through the huge glass curtain wall, and the natural beauty and modern manufacturing arts present a strong contrast in the same space. Participants can rest, wait, communicate, attend the opening ceremony or accept media interviews in the hall at the same time, and then enter the conference hall through the wide corridor in the middle of the hall.
You are quite right that if the whole space has only one white tone, it will look boring, if there are more than 3 colors, it will lose the sense of purity, and we intuitively feel that brown is the best balance color for the conference center. It's elegant, sensible and well-meaning. We worked through numerous sketches and renderings from different angles to determine the positions and proportions of these elements in order to achieve aesthetic harmony.
The owner has a huge review team, each expert's opinion is not uniform, we have to balance everyone's opinion, but also to ensure that the project is unique and beautiful. We spent half a year on this project to design many plans, but we have not been able to get a unified confirmation opinion. We thought that the proposal could not be implemented, but in the end, the architect of the project gave us great support and helped us convince the client to accept it from the perspective of professionals. This is truly appreciated.
The project is still under construction, and we are eagerly anticipating its successful completion and the realization of the envisioned design. The interior design of this project is unique among similar national convention center projects. It combines modern sophistication with cultural heritage, offering more philosophical and aesthetic depth compared to previous designs that were either overly traditional or overly modern. I firmly believe in this.
Receiving this honor signifies that our exploration has been recognized by international professionals, which is a tremendous encouragement and support for me and my team. Objectively speaking, there are not many successful cases of convention centers that integrate traditional elements with modern styles. Through the influential platform of the A’ Design Award, our achievement will undoubtedly inspire peers to create even more outstanding convention center projects.What we most want to achieve is that traditional culture silently influences our lives in a low-key, unobtrusive way. Once again, I sincerely thank the judges for their recognition.