Operating Onsite
Building
pressure
Benjamin Murphy, MD of Iguana
Group, on how the company
is tackling shorter builds with
intelligent design
I
“Shorter build
periods present
us with the
challenge of
designing a
stand that can
be installed
swiftly, but
also without
compromising
health and
safety”
38 — July
guana Group is an exhibition design agency
with over 26 years’ experience working
around the globe. Our ability to adapt our design
approach to the challenge of a constantly evolving
exhibition environment is evident to all our
clients and something we are deeply proud of.
However, there are growing pressures that
are not so visible to our clients, and indeed we
strive to shield them from them completely.
Specifically, I’m talking about the ever-changing
challenges with regards to the build-up period of
an exhibition itself.
We are seeing a trend for shorter and shorter
build-up periods around Europe, but in particular
in the UK. The financial pressures that show
organisers are under mean that they cannot
afford to hire the exhibition venue for an extended
period, and thus build periods of three to four
days are subsequently squeezed down to two days.
These shorter build periods present us with
the challenge of designing a stand that can be
transported and installed swiftly within the
shortened period, but also that we can install
without compromising health and safety. A
shorter build period generally means longer hours
for the teams on-site, and a tired team leads to
an increased risk of shortcuts, over-sights and
subsequently accidents.
How are we tackling this at Iguana? As always,
it starts with intelligent design. We are constantly
researching new materials and technologies,
and a big focus at the moment is on how we can
substitute traditionally heavy wooden structures
with lighter weight materials. The lighter a section
of structure is, the faster it is to install and fewer
team members are needed to install it.
We must consistently ask ourselves; how can
we design this stand so that 99 per cent of the
work can be done in the workshop, away from
the time pressures and chaotic environment of
the exhibition hall? Can we make these product
displays in one piece so they can be ‘walked-on’
during the install?
Of course, all of this needs to be achieved
without compromising a creative design and
innovative stand experience, and we must rely
on the excellence of our designers to achieve
this. We can learn a great deal from our North
American colleagues, where there is a great focus
on minimal weight – to reduce the prohibitive cost
of material handling (aka ‘drayage’), and brevity
of install – to minimise the escalating costs of
unionised labour.
However, tradeshow booths in the US are
arguably much less design-oriented, so to meet
the continuing expectations of our clients we
must find a way to deliver both an efficient install
alongside uncompromising design.
Finally, we are living in a world where
unnecessary waste is becoming less and less
accepted, and rightly so. Thus, we all must be
looking at how we can provide our clients with the
best possible experience while maximising the
use of re-usable materials and environmentally-
friendly manufacturing methods. The days of
‘building and burning’ an exhibition stand are
surely limited in number.
So, with regards to the build-up period of
exhibitions at least, these are the pressures we
face in our immediate future. Iguana Group is a
company that prides itself in finding solutions to
new challenges, and we will continue to offer our
clients innovation and excellence in the ever-
changing tradeshow environment.