Exhibition News May 2019 | Page 30

Feature Space to connect Konligo brings events know-how and 15 years of research together to create truly unique temporary structures A s companies go, Konligo is young. A Belgian start-up founded in 2018, it had its first major introduction to the UK exhibition market at international Confex in February 2019, where it partnered with EN to create a combination stand and session theatre. We sat down with founder Aushim Koumar to learn more about the background of the company’s unusual structures, which can be erected at shows quickly and simply using their unique design. “The idea is to have complex structures that are reusable and can create different shapes but which are very fast to install,” he explains. Konligo is unique in that its origins lie in more than 15 years of research, primarily around creating lightweight and transformable structures, at Vrije Universiteit Brussel led by Professor Niels De Temmerman and Professor Tine Tysmans. Koumar himself had been studying structures for disaster relief, and had Photo: Splento his own business focusing on that topic, which is how the group of founders first came into contact. “We tried to combine our expertise to create a product and that’s how it started,” he continues. “We are trying to bring a new kind of innovation to the events industry. First of all because it’s compact and eye-catching, but mostly because it’s sustainable – we’re trying to reuse all the elements to build new structures. We can create lots of different shapes based on the same structural elements. Everyone is looking for more sustainable products and I hope that we can be one of those products.” The structures include panels, which can be designed according to client specifications, and Koumar foresees a wide range of potential uses for them. “Exhibitions is one sector, we can also do welcoming booths, reception booths, we have smaller structures that can be outside with a membrane,” he tells EN. “We started in Belgium and now we have clients in London and in the Netherlands. We want to expand to France and Germany. “In five years, we hope to cover Europe.” EN event w i f i . com 30 — May