2DEFINE Architecture, a global architecture firm, has won an assignment to lead the design of an extraordinary new convention centre in China.

Alongside local partner Dalian Urban Planning & Design Institute, the firm was selected to direct the design of the Yingkou Convention and Exposition Centre, a four-story, 70,000-square-meter facility in Yingkou, China.

Yingkou is a city of 2.2 million people located in the north-west province of Liaoning on the Bohai Sea.

The US$68 million centre will be a unique, sea urchin-shaped building created to reflect its natural environment.

The facility will be the centrepiece of a new harbour created off of a satellite central business district in the port city.

The oblong building will have no front or back so it will face in all directions to allow 360-degree views.

The convention centre will be situated on a 130,000-square-meter man-made island which will serve as a business destination and feature outdoor promenades and gardens for use by local residents.

The half-acre roof-top terrace will overlook the Bohai Sea, and offer an outdoor space adjacent to the ballroom.

An elevated four-lane road with pedestrian walkway will connect the island with the mainland. Construction of the island will begin in 2012 and the building is slated for completion in 2014.

“The Yingkou Convention and Exposition Centre will be a bold yet inviting facility in a very prominent port location,” said Marshall Strabala, founder and lead designer of 2DEFINE Architecture.

“This type of building, when done right, becomes the heart of a city, a place for weddings, meetings, business and leisure. The trick is to create a building and environs that can be used 365 days a year, whether there is a major conference being held or not,” he concluded.