Misheel Expo
A new facade redefines an existing volume elevating it to a contemporary landmark of the capital city.
preliminary and definitive project - 2013/2015 - completed
Ulan Bator (Mongolia)
Misheel Expo is the leading building of the Ulaanbaatar exhibition center, a new urban landmark, a synthesis element of the area that symbolizes the intent of the Mongolian capital to place itself in the flow of the great events of the Far East.
At the time of involvement in the project, the structure of Misheel Expo was already realized at 70% with regard to the structures. From a functional point of view, the commercial spaces already planned on the first four floors and a Business Hotel on the upper floors have been confirmed. Instead, the project focused on the new facade, which masks some structural discontinuities present in a new skin that simplifies the general morphology of the building. The local tradition of placing staircases and elevators on the perimeter of the building, in fact, has been a relevant project theme, which has led to the intention of concealing them. The facade uses four different materials integrating them in a unitary design: matt stoneware, matt metal, transparent glass and opaque glass. The double order of the base, different from the upper façade, identifies the commercial part and indicates the character of a building that opens onto an important open space, also this object of rethinking the project. The upper floors, on the other hand, have a more fragmentary texture that allows them to be appreciated differently from afar and up close.