Milan Convention Centre Offers Glacial Roof

Plans are afoot in Milan to build what will be Europe's largest ever indoor convention centre, a building that will be draped in a massive glazed roof with a difference.

The internal figures for the plans are massive and entail 18,000 seats, an additional 1,500 seat auditorium that creates a semi circular metallic bulge to one corner thats supported by a series of struts, 73 meeting and hospitality rooms, and 54,000 square meters of exhibition space. Providing shelter come rain or shine is one end the roof that protrudes outwards creating a tail that acts as a canopy for a long twisting walkway which serves as one of the entrance routes for those using the complex.

Despite the scale of the scheme the real talking point is set to be the roof that transforms the traditional shed-like exhibition centre into something a bit more special.

Undulating contours of glass blanket the roof creating a crystalline glacial landscape that will create an ever-changing myriad of reflections, sparkling points of light, and shadows as the sun crosses the sky from day to day. The similarities with a glacier should become much stronger at night as the general illumination of the glass covering will give it a truly ice-like appearance.

Moving past the aesthetics of the roof, it's a complex structure that has been designed to consist of 8000 metres of thin aluminium, glass and LED lights that will emit 1 watt per metre creating a truly ambient light. These slivers of the roof can each have amorphous silicon photovoltaics integrated into them which with a power output of 25 watts per metre can light it employing only 5% of the total space on offer.

The project is being developed by Fondazione Fiera Milano who have put a 40 million euro budget on the scheme which should be enough to get it going.