Element of Design of Excel Exhibition Centre - Essay Example

Excel Exhibition Centre Element of Design of Excel Exhibition Centre In the past years, various research scholars conducted study in order to understand how design elements in building are being used for influencing perception of viewers and audience (Berglund, Gunnarson and Soames, 2002). Afshar, Salleh and Lucas (2010) used mathematical model in order to calculate space vectors related design component of building architecture that influence viewing experience of audience and guests. On the other hand, consideration of research works of Marmot et al (2006) and Gupta, Khare and Goyal (2007) reveals the fact that designing element in the building can also affect the behaviour of people who are living inside the building. In such context, in order to understand influence of element of design, the study will investigate design functionality for an events company. Excel exhibition centre is being selected as sample organization for investigating dynamics of design functionality for a building. ExCeL London is renowned convention and exhibition centre that not only organizes national events but also organizes international events (Excel-London, 2014). Variety of events are being organized within the premise of Excel exhibition centre such as conference, award winning exhibitions, company seminars, annual general meetings, sporting events, independence day celebration, award ceremonies and many others (Excel-London, 2014a). Generally, corporate clients like Adobe System Europe, British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), Aviation Week, Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd, Datacenter Dynamics and others use the Excel exhibition centres for conducting shareholder meeting, employee meeting, new product launch and organizing different public relationship activities (Excel-London, 2014b). It is being estimated that more than 4,000 people can attend events within Excel exhibition centre. Interesting fact is that design elements within Excel exhibition centre are relative and dynamic in nature and these elements are flexible enough to be changed in accordance with demand of clients. For sake of simplicity, Excel exhibition centre has two designing parameters such external area and internal area. Within the convention and exhibition centre, spacious corridors and rooms have been designed to accommodate all the visiting guests. Under external design of the building, on-site car parking and lass green garden are being offered for visitors. In the west side of the building, Royal Victoria multi-storey car park is being located where people can park their cars by paying though any of three pay points (Excel-London, 2014a). However, interior of Excel exhibition centre is more important from designer perspective because majority of large scale designing elements are being incorporated within internal premise of the building. Inside the building, locations of events are being changed in accordance with event space requirements. For example, Event Halls and Platinum Suite are being designed for accommodating large numbers of visitors while Gallery Meeting Rooms are being designed for accommodating relatively small numbers of visitors (Excel-London, 2014c). International Convention Centre (ICC) is also being located within the renowned convention and exhibition centre. Within the ICC London Suite; a conference suite, 6 smaller meeting rooms and a banquet hall are being designed. Figure 1: View of Excel exhibition centre (Source: Excel-London, 2014c) From architectural perspective, rectangular design of building blocks of Excel exhibition centre has significant importance on increasing space availability for clients’ like Aviation Week, Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd, Datacenter Dynamics and others. Rectangular design of building blocks of Excel exhibition creates sharp edges of corners and vertical space design which provide opportunity to clients to place lights or hoardings in front facing manner. While conducting research on space design, Alaghbari et al (2011) found that rectangular design of home or buildings provide numerous benefits such as, 1- space availability, 2- vertical positioning of hoardings, 3- flat backgrounds which can be used as backdrop for meeting and conference, 4- spacious placement of doors and windows and 5- flat ceiling panels help users to adjust lighting to influence visual experience of visitors. It is evident from the above diagram that Excel exhibition centre has 11 building blocks. In case of small rooms, 70-75 square meters of floor space is being allocated, in case of medium sized rooms, 95-100 square meters of floor space is being allocated, in case of large sized rooms, 170-195 square meters of floor space is being allocated (Excel-London, 2014c). Figure 2: Detail Design of Excel exhibition centre (Source: Excel-London, 2014c) While talking about designing elements, one has to consider range of factors such as Unity/Harmony, Methods, Hierarchy, Scale/proportion, Contrasts and Dominance/emphasis. It is evident from ICC capital hall design of Excel exhibition centre that throughout the building, rectangular designs are being used. Therefore, significant amount of symmetry exists in the design of the conference hall. Equal importance is given on different building blocks such as placement of ceilings, audience seating arrangement, door positioning, spacing of the floors, position of building corners and others. Therefore, Excel exhibition centre has unified design. While designing the conference hall, similarity method is being used by repeating same types of designing at every building block (Alaghbari et al, 2011). As part of hierarchy of design, most important parts of the buildings are being placed at front most place while least important building blocks are being placed at last position. For example, Capital suits are being placed at front end while small sized rooms are being placed at backward side of the building. Light and shaded colours are being used while painting Excel exhibition centre and use of such colours has increased relative visual spacing for guests and visitors. For example, in building designing, bright white and soil colour are being used by Excel exhibition centre in order to create spacious feeling among visitors. As part of contrast, 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional design objects like hoardings, banners, seating arrangements are being used inside Excel exhibition centre. Separate lighting panel at top of the building rooms are being designed within concert hall and variation in light scheme can be created through rotation of panels (Excel-London, 2014c). For example, during Creating the Extraordinary Together event of Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd, dynamically rotating blue colours are being used. Based on above discussion, it can be said that Excel exhibition centre is balancing the equilibrium of different designing elements to influence the sensory (both audio and visual perspective) experience of viewers and audiences. The exhibition centre is prioritizing designing elements in accordance to their importance in order to influence audio-visual sensing of audience. Spacing of rooms and building blocks is done in such a manner so that maximum number of audience and visitors can be accommodated at particular point of time (Excel-London, 2014c). Therefore, it can be said that Excel-London maintains a symmetric design that helps the exhibition centre to engage audience and visitors. As this is a reflective study, therefore, in the next section, reflective perspective of the report will be discussed. Benefits of the Reflective Report Bulman and Schutz (2004) and Ghaye and Lillyman (2000) pointed out that there can be two types of reflections such as“reflection on action” and “reflection in action”. In case of “reflection in action”, reflection is being done during occurrence of an experience while in case of “reflection on action”, reflection is being on past event. According to Wilson (2009), through reflection, individuals can transform the gained knowledge into meaningful future actions. However, in this paper, the study has used “reflection on action” approach where previous experience of understanding how design is used in Excel exhibition centre is being analyzed. By writing reflective report, several outcomes or benefits can be achieved such as academic learning, non-academic learning, need for self development, awareness of own mental functions and empowerment & emancipation (Wilson, Walsh and Kirby, 2007). Benefit 1- by writing the report, I have gathered knowledge about special design and importance of designing elements. While going through literature of the topic, I have read several research works on designing elements. By doing so, I have understood the importance of theoretical knowledge in directing building design of exhibition and large scale auditoriums. Benefit 2- by writing the reflective report, I have gathered the non-academic knowledge of managing timing and important documents in systematic manner. This knowledge will help me to excel both in professional and personal field in future years. Benefit 3- by writing the reflective report, I found that my writing skill is not up to desired standard. In order to eradicate this weakness, I will consult with supervisor and read news papers in order to improve my English writing skills. Benefit 4- by writing the reflective report, it has been found that I can easily recall theories through pictorial depiction. In future, I will use special and pictorial depictions to remember important theories. Benefit 5- by writing the reflective report, I have become able to come out of my comfort zone and read subjects that I found difficult to understand. Therefore, doing the project has encouraged me to learn new subjects and overcome barriers in gathering knowledge. Reference List Afshar, A., Salleh, E. and Lucas, J. A., 2010. Vernacular architecture of Old Saffein Village: The last chance for saving the architectural values of historical Kish Island. Colombo: International Seminar on Vernacular Architecture. Alaghbari, W., Salim, A., Dola, K. and Ali, A. A. A., 2011. Developing affordable housing design for low-income in Sana’a, Yemen. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 4(1), pp. 84-98. Berglund, B., Gunnarson, G. A. and Soames, J., 2002. Reliability and validity of a sick building syndrome questionnaire. Archives of the Centre for Sensory Research, 7, pp. 83-125. Bulman, C. and Schutz, S., 2004. Reflective practice in nursing. 3rd ed. Bodmin: Blackwell. Excel-London., 2014a. About ExCeL London. [online] Available at: [Accessed 9 May 2014]. Excel-London., 2014b. ExCeL Case Studies. [online] Available at: [Accessed 9 May 2014]. Excel-London., 2014c. Vital Statistics: Technical Details & Specifications. [pdf] Excel-London. Available at [Accessed 9 May 2014]. Ghaye, T. and Lillyman, S., 2000. Reflection: Principles and practice for healthcare professionals. Dinton: Quay Books. Gupta, S., Khare, M. and Goyal, R., 2007. Sick building syndrome – a case study in a multistory centrally air-conditioned building in the Delhi City. Building and Environment, 42(8), pp. 2797-809. Marmot, A. F., Eley, J., Stafford, M., Stansfeld, S. A., Warwick, E. and Marmot, M. G., 2006. Building health: an epidemiological study of ‘sick building syndrome’ in the Whitehall II study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63, pp. 283-9. Wilson, G.,Walsh, T. and Kirby, M., 2007. Reflective practice and workplace learning: the experience of MSWstudents. Reflective Practice. 8(1), pp. 1-15. Wilson, J., 2009. Reflecting-on-the-future: A chronological consideration of reflective practice. Reflective Practice. 9(2), pp.177-184. Read More