FCC Construcción

The Valencia Trade Fair has got over 600,000 m² of floor space. It was upsized in a recent expansion that added more than 400,000 m², making this one of the biggest trade fair venues in Europe.

In addition to the construction of exhibit space, the job called for auxiliary buildings and infrastructure work including several items to improve access to the fair grounds and better organise the premises.

The exhibit areas have got four halls, each with some 12,000 m² in each of its five levels, plus a special pavilion where extra-heavy and extra-large items can be put on exhibit. The Central Forum building and the 220,000-volt power substation constitute the bulk of the auxiliary work.

The infrastructure work is made up of 10,000 metres of roads, eight roundabouts, two bridges over the V30 that have a span of 80 metres, and a pedestrian bridge facilitating visitor access from the parking area. It also includes a 350-metre-long tunnel and a special building called the Exchange Building. The grounds are enclosed by a 2,400-metre-long fence.

One of the most singular characteristics of this job is that it was built on the same land as the old fair grounds, but without having to interrupt the exhibit schedule.

Pavilions 1, 2, 3 and 4 all share the same composition and characteristics: three levels of exhibits and two levels of parking facilities (with the capacity for 3,000 vehicles), except for Pavilion 1, which does not have the first two levels. These premises are organised so that the separation between them forms a cross measuring 40x240 metres longitudinally and 300x220 metres across. They house the physical plant, coffee shops and services. The exhibit halls are open spaces that have no partitions or passageways inside, just the outer walls and the great doors.

The Special Pavilion is a huge rectangular hall 180x74 metres by 15 metres tall. It has an interesting feature in that its roof is at ground level, next to that of the Exchange Building. It outlines a plaza of some 25,000 m², through which people must travel to get between the Central and South Forums.

The Central Forum, which is used to receive the bulk of the venue's visitors, is a glassed-in building measuring 40x36 metres on the ground and 22 metres tall.

The roads surrounding the fairgrounds have been organised for smoother-flowing traffic in the area. One of the big features of the road work is the Exchange Building. Vehicles drive right through to gain easy access to the different floors of the parking areas or, if they are not heading to the fairgrounds, they can continue on their way.