Jackson Convention Center

Arquitectonica designed the building as suspended above the plaza as if challenging gravity. Its folding glass facade faces north towards Farish. Its transparency reveals the gallery within and the meeting rooms beyond, telling the story of its functions and projecting its activities to the public spaces around it. Both roof and underside accentuate the building form and reinforce the notion of a chiseled prism suspended in space. Transparency from the street and natural light are very important factors in the design of this complex. As can be seen in the folding glass façade of the center, because of its inherent reflectivity, glass creates a sort of prismatic appearance in the façade as it reflects in different directions – light and shadow, sky and ground, surrounding buildings. The Jackson Convention Center East and West phases have been designed to complement each other and together form a unified composition that makes a bold statement for that entire block.

When fully built out, the convention complex will be 835,600 SF (77,630m2) with 240,000 SF (22,300m2) of exhibit space.  In addition, the development will also include 80,000 SF (7,430m2) of retail/entertainment space, teleconference center and a 130,000 SF (12,075m2) convention hotel.  As part of the Urban Design Plan adopted by the City of Jackson, this center interacts with the Farish Street Historic District, serving as a cornerstone building for the city and stimulating the revitalization of the downtown business district.