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Shaw Conference Centre |
The Shaw Conference Centre, colloquially called The SHAW, is a convention centre located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Its namesake is the Shaw Communications company.
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The SHAW Conference Centre is located on Jasper Avenue at 97th street, is a small part of Edmonton's skyline. The Jasper Avenue entrance opens onto he centre's glass atrium, whish in turn serves as the entrance to the conference level.
The long outer walls on the centre's conference and salon levels offer a panoramic view of the North Saskatchewan River valley that looks all the way over the valley to the north campus of the University of Alberta.
The centre is linked via pedway to Edmonton's Canada Place, which houses many federal government offices in Edmonton. Canada Place is linked, in turn, to many other buildings by way of Edmonton's pedway system, including, the Citadel Theatre, the Edmonton Westin Hotel, the City Hall, the Sutton Place Hotel, and the Edmonton City Centre mall.
Besides trade shows, the Shaw is also one of Edmonton's largest music venues. It has hosted a wide variety of bands including the final show of Big Sugar.
One of the SHAW's most distinctive features, the Atrium reflects the hill of the river valley that the centre is built into. Upon entering the Atrium (either through the Canada Place pedway or outdoor Jasper Avenue entrance), escalators, carpeted stairways, and a unique tram-like glass elevator (reserved for strollers and the disabled) allow people to access the main Conference Level below. Also included in the Atrium are four man-made waterfalls, capped with luscious tropical scenery. The waterfalls are placed strategically between the stairs/escalators and the elevator, creating a unique architectural blend of abstraction and nature.
The stairs, escalators and elevators in the Atrium provide access to the Conference Level, which is the main area of the Shaw Conference Centre. Built into the valley, the Conference Level is home to the public concourse and four convention halls: the original Halls A, B and C, and the more recently added Hall D. Halls A, B, and C are built adjacent to each other on the concourse and are separated by dividing walls. The dividing walls can be folded away to create one large hall when a larger conference space is needed.
Located below the Conference Level is the Salon Level, with access provided from the Conference Level by an additional set of escalators. This level, which is the lowest level of the centre, includes 13 small salons, or rooms.
These salons are used as venues for workshops and seminars during conferences, and as practicing and storage areas during concerts. Some salons are separated by sliding walls that can be opened to provide larger meeting spaces, much like the conference halls on the upper level.
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