An exhibition centre is a central focus of a city's economic life, and in many cases a unique expression of its image. For this reason, as well as offering adequate space and infrastructure, it must make a strong, clearly recognizable architectural statement. Over the past couple of decades, new technology and globalization have transformed trade fairs: today they are not so much markets as forums for the exchange of information and contacts. This new volume in the Construction and Design Manual series spotlights twenty-two exemplary European buildings that have overcome the resulting architectural challenges. It also includes an overview of the cultural history of European trade fairs, and an interview on successful exhibition-centre design with Volkwin Marg of gmp Architekten, one of the world's leading specialists in this area of architecture.