Stand construction / Design: Pushing the boundaries

Some presentations need more than just one stand. Sometimes it has to be a whole pavilion, a separate hall or the wide open landscape of a country.

Large-scale presences are nothing rare at the leading trade show of the construction industry, Bauma in Munich. Peri, a German scaffolding and formwork provider, is no exception to the rule. For over 25 years Ulm-based stand builder Fey Messedesign has served the company at all exhibitions world-wide. And 2013 has been the third year running that it has designed a purpose-built temporary hall for Peri. A steel construction with a height of 18 metres, the hall offered 4,500 square metres of exhibition space. A larger than life image of a construction worker adorned the façade and gave it a “consciously human face”, as Jürgen Fey, Managing Director of the stand construction company, points out. At the three hall entrances each visitor received a carrier bag with a folding ruler, cap and carpenter's pencil from hostesses clad in overalls and rubber boots. “As a family-run company with a long tradition Peri wants to welcome every visitor personally,” says Jürgen Fey.

Inside the hall visitors could see live scaffolding demonstrations with a crew of workers: As one of the highlights, Peri presented a newly developed “crane-free” high-rise construction system. “We simply moved the building site into the hall,” says Jürgen Fey. From the entrances broad carpets marked pathways leading past information pylons and multimedia columns to the information desk. A modern façade with curved wooden slats painted light grey dominated the interior along with medium grey floor coverings. The products and information columns stood out effectively against this unobtrusive colour scheme. Both the basement and upper floor boasted restaurant areas that were able to cater for up to one thousand people simultaneously. “Thanks to openings in the façade of the hospitality area the guests could enjoy striking views of Peri's product and construction world, says Jürgen Fey and quotes figures to highlight the dimensions of the project: “Planning this Bauma presence took one and a half years. In return, Peri was able to welcome over 130,000 visitors in its hall.” (www.fey-messedesign.de).

Group stands, country pavilions and other multi-exhibitor presences always need to master a balancing act. On the one hand, they must showcase the individual corporate design and product world of an exhibitor. And on the other, they need to create a uniform design concept and demarcate the exhibition space. At IWA 2013 in Nuremberg three companies jointly exhibited at the Swiss Pavilion. Green watch faces with white characters and symbols set against a deep black background lured the visitor into the Traser brand's product world. The label was promoting its watches for special military forces that are even easy to read in complete darkness. Behind the counter and a curved wall there was a kind of dark room. Both there and in a black display case mounted on the outside of the stand wall the watches demonstrated their readability in “zero visibility conditions”. Black also dominated as the corporate design colour in another area. There KWA presented its weapons for special forces enabling visitors to try them out with plastic ammunition in a shooting area.   

The back-lit textile banner suspended from the ceiling over the KWA area showed what a radiant and long-distance impact the colour black can have. But the presence of the high-precision weapon manufacturer Kriss was the centrepiece of the Swiss Pavilion. The walls and furniture were mostly in red. But elements in bright white such as carpeting and side tables offered a contrast, simultaneously representing the national colours of the country of origin. Textile cubes with the Swiss cross hanging over the group stand were also visible from afar, and a surrounding white banner with the text “Swiss Pavilion” spanned the entire area. “Our stand produced a harmonious overall image. And it reflected the cutting-edge standards of the high-tech country whose products are highly appreciated above all by the military and civil defence forces, says designer and project manager Branco Tomic of Messebau Wörnlein. The Nuremberg-based company had developed and built the stand (www.woernlein.de).

When Mercedes launches a new vehicle a première for the public is simply not enough. It also needs to impress the most important opinion-makers with the advantages of its luxury cars. On multi-day test rides through fascinating cities and landscapes press, TV and trade journalists can judge the vehicles for themselves. This summer Mercedes invited representatives of the press to experience the new S class in Canada. The tour started in the metropolis Toronto. At the Four Seasons Hotel journalists were welcomed in a luxury ambience and familiarised with all details of the design and technology. An exhibition with seat models, displays and media installations conveyed the corresponding lifestyle feeling and in-depth information, including a stunning demonstration of the innovative technical features, for example.   

On the following day the journalists were taken to Muskoka Airport to test the road handling characteristics in extreme situations on a closed runway course. In the hangar the test drivers were welcomed in an integrated event area with a simulator for the new Pre-Safe protection system, a test course for the new Magic Body Control feature and a lounge area with interactive presentations of all the new developments. Only on their rides through Canada's impressive landscape with forests and lakes could the journalists experience the quality of the new S-class on a longer journey. Housed in a villa on Muskoka Lake, the test drivers enjoyed the stunning countryside in absolute privacy. Bluepool Messen + Events from Leinfelden-Echterdingen was commissioned to build the design and presentation facilities. “The high-tech flair and ultra-comfortable ambience of the S-class interior was to be reflected by the design. The harmoniously integrated design elements reinforced the S-class feeling,” says Bluepool project manager Jan Seeburger (www.bluepool.de).

The global novelty is called SuperSilent and is a circular saw blade; a high-tech product manufactured by AKE. It lowers the noise levels generated by sawing by 20 dB, offers a reduced risk of injury and can cut all wood materials without having to be re-sharpened. At the leading industry fair Ligna 2013 in Hannover AKE launched the world novelty in style– at a stand designed by the trade show and graphic designers of Atelier Türke based in Balingen near Stuttgart. Illuminated banners bearing the logo and key visual already drew attention to the novelty from a distance. A bright green band, on which a table saw was displayed, immediately caught the visitor’s eye at the stand. This band continued in a vertical line down the back wall. It featured an image of a model striking a catwalk pose with the saw blade in her hand. On the back wall area behind a counter display case one could also ready the company's slogan “AKE – feel better”. And there were live demonstrations to show visitors how much better sawing with the new blade sounds and feels. “The customers got the feeling that they could forget all they knew about sawing blades,” says Frank Türke, Managing Director of Atelier Türke, about the product that also won First Prize at the Ligna Innovation Awards. To present the remainder of the extensive product range in an attractive manner, Atelier Türke had developed displays with bright, white tabletops. The products for solid wood, door manufacturing and combined materials were also displayed with examples. “It was a presence you could hear, feel, see and admire,” recaps Frank Türke (www.atelier-tuerke.de).