Venue Décor Paints a Vision

For many business travelers, the last place they'd look for taste and culture would be a tradeshow – typically, that's where buyers and sellers meet in a large, anonymous space designed to hold lots of people and lots of booths. But in the Southeast, at least two convention centers have come to recognize that, while deals must be made, artistic sensibilities need not be sacrificed.

At the Georgia Intl. Convention Center in Atlanta and the Kentucky Intl. Convention Center in Louisville, as much energy has been put into developing an aesthetically pleasing business environment as creating one that's physically comfortable. Rather than hold business meetings and hawk products in a sterile, warehouse-style environment, the operators of these venues understand that an atmosphere of taste and sophistication afforded by the inclusion of art and design can, if not absolutely improve business, improve working conditions.

The newly constructed Georgia Intl. Convention Center is so loaded with contemporary art that facility managers have created a museum-style MP3-guided audio tour to educate interested attendees on the various works.

"We knew we had a major task," said Hugh Austin, executive director of the GICC. "We wanted to take the boxes – the meeting rooms, exhibit halls, ballrooms – and try to give them a contemporary look, with convex and concave walls. We wanted to avoid having a box on the inside, wrapped with a box on the outside." Once that was done, Austin said, "We thought we'd better put some jewelry on the building."

Austin's team employed consultant EDL & Associates to identify artists suitable for contributing work to the 400,000 square foot space. After looking at sample pieces, Austin and his crew commissioned a number of local and foreign artists to create new works for permanent display in the facility.

For example, for the exhibit wall, Atlanta artist Tom Swanston created a 65'x30' piece crafted from encaustic on aluminum grid. But because the wall would be torn down during future expansion, Swanston painted a contemporary piece that explodes into 12'x12' panels that can be taken down and reassembled to fit the needs of the facility over time.

Local artist Kevin Cole put together a piece that reflects Australia, Germany, Italy and other countries for which the facility's meeting rooms are named. Matt Janke, of Marietta, Ga., blew glass urns for a special VIP room that caught the attention of such notable guests as John Kerry, Howard Dean, John Ashcroft and Patti LaBelle. Ulster Carpets designed a 192,000 sq. ft. carpet, the largest the company's ever made with a non-repeating pattern.

"Our clients and guests comment on how great they feel in the comfortable environment," Austin said. "They feel energized."

The Kentucky Intl. Convention Center during its 1999 expansion was loaded with many notable designs reflecting the bourgeoning arts community surrounding the city's river district. Most easily recognizable is a giant decorative bridge over the block-long facility that is modeled after the Ohio River bridges visible from the city's center.

"It's given the convention center a real presence in the downtown area," said Amanda Storment, vice president of media and public relations for the Kentucky State Fair Board, which operates the facility. "It's architecturally pleasing, where before it was not. Before the renovation, the convention center was nothing people even noticed."

The bridge design, by architectural firm Godsey & Associates, provided the jumping-off point for other pieces throughout the venue. The facility now boasts a permanent art collection that includes a large stained-glass series by Bob Markert depicting local history. A terrazzo floor, titled "City at the Falls" and designed by four artists with the Harries-Heder Collab-orative, portrays the monuments, railroad and other notable visual aspects of Louisville. Two giant kinetic sculptures crafted by Tom Butsch named – you guessed it – "The Bridge" sway in the wind at the building's entrance, welcoming tradeshow attendees.

"It's not just a building with meeting rooms and exhibition halls," explained Storment. "The art adds life. It ties the whole community together."