Stand construction / Design: Expertise in materialities

Materials, know-how, brands: The recent FAMAB Awards once again paid homage to outstanding exhibition concepts – as three examples in the category “Architecture” go to show.

DLW Flooring at Bau 2015 in Munich: Like fresh leaves, the stand’s mysterious shell shimmered in many different hues. (Photo: FAMAB Award)
DLW Flooring at Bau 2015 in Munich: Like fresh leaves, the stand’s mysterious shell shimmered in many different hues. (Photo: FAMAB Award)

Gold for best stand design: Alape is a manufacturer of exquisitely crafted washstands and basins out of glazed steel. The company stands out from the competition with this characteristic material and its properties: precision, lightness and elegance. These qualities were made tangible at the stand developed by Heine/Lenz/Zizka and implemented by Holtmann Messe+Event at ISH 2015 in Frankfurt. Product islands, held aloft only by narrow tubular steel frames, appeared to hover over the ground and allowed the eye to concentrate on the individual products. Alape’s constant quest for a perfect unity of form, function and material was visualised by a product sculpture. Thanks to its high aesthetic quality it was a spectacular eye-catcher. Apart from new product lines, the focus was on the exhibitor’s core competence: its expertise in glazed steel.

The Alape booth also made a new categorisation of the products visible. In a stand area inverted to black 3D-printed models and short films informed architects and planners about customisation options for the material. The variety of the add-on furniture range was visualised by a wall relief composed of miniature 3D models. With this award the jury confirmed “that the brand was clearly defined and the products and services consistently showcased by the sophisticated presentation design. The concept also stood out for its contrasts and the sculpture in the interior, which replicated the theme.” The interaction between the products, “stand materialities” and details was a further wow factor.

Alape presence: developed by Heine/Lenz/Zizka and realised by Holtmann Messe+Event. (Photo: FAMAB Award)
Alape presence: developed by Heine/Lenz/Zizka and realised by Holtmann Messe+Event. (Photo: FAMAB Award)

Bronze, also for stand design: At the same fair Kaldewei had its largest presence ever. The exhibitor wanted to underline its position as the world’s leading provider of premium enamelled steel bathroom fittings. The stand architecture was inspired by intersecting beams of light that divided the brand space into three-dimensional prisms. The lines were not parallel but converged on three distant vanishing points producing a central court with walls leaning in towards the centre – a dynamic interplay of perspective and proportion. This created a dramatic stage at the heart of the installation. There the world premiere of Kaldewei’s range of basins was in the spotlight. Embedded in a large highlight display the wash stands appeared as perfect design objects with a globe of orchids suspended over them, accentuating the extraordinary architecture. The king of flowers was juxtaposed against the shimmering dark walls, strict geometry and pure design vocabulary of the premium products on display.

In the adjacent rooms the diversity of Kaldewei’s products was showcased in separate theme areas. The iconographic room installations put a clear focus on materiality, colours and the harmonious design vocabulary of the products. Music, fragrance and a lighting system customised to each presentation created an experience for all the senses to visualise the Kaldewei brand. The jury praised the booth architecture designed by Schmidhuber and built by Raumtechnik Messebau & Event Services: “The sophisticated presentation of the brand and the products was outstanding. Great details, a low-key architecture and full-on showcasing of the products reflected the high premium segment.”

Kaldewei at ISH 2015: architecture and design by Schmidhuber, realisation by Raumtechnik. (Photo: FAMAB Award)
Kaldewei at ISH 2015: architecture and design by Schmidhuber, realisation by Raumtechnik. (Photo: FAMAB Award)

Gold for best stand inspiration: Colourful and dazzling – this best describes Stuttgart-based Somaas stand design for DLW Flooring at Bau 2015 in Munich. Together with the agency tat.sache the architects developed a concept that revealed the environmentally sustainable world of natural designer flooring to the visitor. At its heart lay the image of a tree and the natural cycle of growth and decay, reflecting the sustainable approach behind the featured products. Like fresh leaves. the stand’s mysterious shell shimmered in many different hues. It was made of linoleum-bound sketchbooks, which the visitors could pull out and take home. As the show progressed, they were gradually peeled away to reveal the interior - a sustainable concept enabling the shell’s re-use after the fair.

Inside the booth the focus was on the colours and materials of the linoleum contents. The ambience was dominated by the natural look of the material. The central image was an abstract cross section of a tree trunk. Like annual rings, lines and bands of the innovative Armstrong Naturecore flooring in various designs covered all stand surfaces. “The unconventional presentation of an everyday product left a strong impression,” pointed out the jury. “The shell offered tantalising glimpses to visitors from afar. Generating a playful, creative connection with the product, it invited visitors into the booth. There they found many surprising new takes on the everyday material.” (www.famab-award.de).

Author: Peter Borstel

This article was published in TFI issue 1/2016

 
 

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