The Kongu Convention Centre located at Erode in Tamil Nadu, India consists of a multipurpose hall which is one of the largest in India with a seating capacity of 4500 persons. Alternatively it has one indoor basket ball court and four indoor badminton courts which are used as sports halls. The building also has the facilities for Conference halls , Seminar halls , Training centre , Guest rooms and VIP rooms , Offices , High-tech Audio Visual facilities for Global conferencing , Cafeteria , Offices etc. The construction completed in July 2010 with a built up area of 18,600 sq metres.
The Architects Prof. Charanjit Shah and Ar. Gurpreet Shah wanted to break the monotony of the Kongu Engineering Campus. A form that is dynamic and can define identity of the campus was contemplated. The main auditorium of the building is flanked by 2 additional seating aisles on either side which augment the capacity of the auditorium when required. When not in use as an auditorium it functions as an indoor sports complex for various sports activities throughout the year.
The building is a Reinforced Cement Concrete framed structure with a Steel truss network for the roof which aids to spanning large column free spaces up to 50 metres. Various lighting levels according to standards of usage have been incorporated. Perforated gypsum boards have been used in the interiors to cut reverberation. The clerestory windows act as means of ventilation. The hot air moves out through the windows and cool air runs in through the air cooling ducts.
The Kongu Convention Centre was initially built as an auditorium for various institutional activities. The architects of the project suggested that the large auditorium could be used for multiple purposes, which would also make the use of the building more frequent without increasing the overall cost of the building. The client liked the idea and reciprocated positively. Multiple functionalities were then incorporated in the building and at present the Kongu convention centre also functions as a hall for various sports activities. So the Kongu Convention centre is a perfect example of not only achieving an architectural marvel in minimum cost but also shows how an interactive relationship between the architect and the client can bring about better buildings and justify the term ‘architecture’ to the fullest.
