Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre, opened in 2003, receives more than 750,000 visitors and about 8,000 exhibitors every year, and serves as an important venue for many large-scale events such as international trade fairs, exhibitions and forums. From winning its competition in 2000 to completing its 2nd phase in 2023, Gerber Architekten has been deeply involved in Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre's 20-year history.

Continuing the architectural tradition of the city Karlsruhe and its ideal of "green city", a "green axis" is planned to connect the site and create a large-scale convention and exhibition center with perfect integration of architectural landscape, and through the specially designed structures such as cantilevered roofs, the building meets its needs for large-span and multi-functional use, while giving it a unique meaning as an urban landmark.

Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre, located on the southwest side of the city Karlsruhe and backed by the northern foothills of the Black Forest, was built at the beginning of the 21st century. With the background where Karlsruhe had been a technology and research center in the upper Rhine, Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre was urgently needed to serve as a large-scale innovative trade fair center to promote industry exchanges and cooperation in wider fields.

On the basis of continuing the characteristics of the traditional palace of Karlsruhe and integrating the city’s ideal of "Green City", the design took a symmetry plan with a "Green Axis" throughout the site, integrating the building with the landscape.

From west to east, the axis starts from a landscaped lake in front of the main entrance, runs through the multi-purpose entrance hall with its iconic cantilevered roof, passes through the central garden courtyard, and finally reaches an open green field.

This axis not only makes a clear orientation in this large exhibition center, but also allows the landscape to be perfectly integrated into all areas - people can walk around external spaces and see the building form hidden in the mountains, or wonder inside to enjoy the foothills scenery from different perspectives.

The most striking feature of the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre is the cantilevered roof at its main entrance.

The entire roof protrudes 26 meters outwards and is slightly lifted from the building below, thus to integrated glass wells above as well as further emphasize the symbolic significance of the entrance with a sense of lightness.

The entrance hall below is a 4-storey T-shaped structure, defined as a mixed-use space that includes a conference center, a press center, a restaurant, and an event hall.

While integrated with the roof, the entrance hall extends with a single glass volume inward, creating a closer connection between the entrance, the exhibition halls and the inner courtyard.

Facing the street, the roof gives the building an "avant-garde" character by its metal appearance, while the timber façade below blends in with the natural surroundings; However, the glass volume as well forms a visual connection internally, allowing an unobstructed view of the adjacent exhibition halls and the surrounding countryside for everyone in the entrance hall.

Four exhibition halls, which are 160-meter-long and 80-meter-wide, are clearly arranged around the central courtyard, with an orderly manner on both sides and connection to each other through glass corridors.

In terms of span direction, all exhibition halls apply arched self-supporting wooden roof structures to efficiently utilize space and create a high-quality exhibition environment; while in terms of length direction, the exhibition halls are divided into multiple parts with some waistline-like glass skylights between the wooden roof structures, providing rich natural lighting for the interior and making the spatial rhythm of the exhibition hall. Under these skylight, structural trusses are specially revealed.

It is worth mentioning that the design with extensive use of wooden structures took into account the 1999 storm disaster in the Black Forest, which led to an oversupply of timber in the region.

Internally, Exhibition Hall 1 to 3 have a minimalist design with curved wooden panels forming arches, while Exhibition Hall 4 have diamond-shaped trusses with continuous stacked beams – a more stable structure with higher load capacity, thus meeting its needs of serving as a multi-purpose hall.

On the façade, all exhibition halls have a sleek metal finish to echo the cantilevered roof, re-emphasizing the modern image of the entire convention center.

In addition to the use of materials and energy-efficient building system, the design also extends the concept of Ecology to the landscape and outdoor facilities.

The central garden courtyard breaks the monotonous experience of the traditional exhibition center, providing a new interactive and comfortable place for both exhibitors and visitors to take rest and informal communication – besides the exhibition experience, people can connect in a natural and relaxing environment, as well as enjoy a beautiful view of the Black Forest foothills.