Constructed in 1993, with a significant expansion in 2011, the Pennsylvania Convention Center (PCC) is the 14th largest facility in the nation and features one of the most expansive exhibit spaces and ballrooms in the Northeastern United States.
The meetings, conventions, trade shows, and other events hosted by the Center attract attendees from across the country and around the world to Philadelphia, making the facility the largest economic driver of the region’s hospitality industry.
KMA has a long history with the PCC as a member of the original design team responsible for the 1993 building and the later expansion. We have been involved with various improvements since then, the latest being a new executive boardroom that opened in January 2025. The $2.25 million project came about when the client, the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA), expressed a desire to replace an underutilized open lounge area with a modern space outfitted with the latest audio-visual technology and environmental controls.
Planning and preliminary design began prior to the pandemic, which then caused the project to be put on hold. By the time it resumed, much had changed, from stakeholders and design staff to discontinued product lines and supply chain integrity. KMA’s in-house team collaborated with consulting architect CaVA Architects and MEP engineering firm Dimitri J. Ververelli Inc. to design the 1,700-square-foot boardroom, which converted an underutilized area in the facility into one of the largest meeting spaces in the region.
Boasting impressive views of the city, the boardroom occupies the west side of the Arch Street bridge, linking the main Convention Center exhibit halls to the train shed grand ballroom above Reading Terminal Market. It is the only enclosed administrative space in the Center with an outdoor view.
