Atlas

BAU is the world’s leading trade fair for architecture, materials and building systems held every two years in Germany. It attracts record numbers of visitors – in 2019  the show saw as many as 250 000 visitors in total with 85 000 foreign visitors and over 2250 exhibitors from 45 countries who showcased their products in 19 exhibition halls.

Atlas is a leading Polish company which specializes in construction chemicals. It is both dynamic and innovative. Thanks to many years of experience and the vast knowledge about the market, Atlas sets the trends in the industry. The company wishes the exhibition shows to help it build an image of an attractive and reliable partner for their suppliers and buyers. Atlas developed a unique state-of-the-art gel technology and it is important for them to have this unbeatable technology showcased in a suitable way

It was a real emotional roller coaster! We prepared 14 different versions of the project for this client to choose from. Atlas contacted us on 4th October, which means that there was only one month left for us to prepare everything so that the deadline for the official stand approval for the trade fair in Munich could be met. The entire design department was involved in this project, that is 5 different designers. The ideas for the stand kept changing together with the expectations of the client – from a stand oriented towards the visual image and prestige with no room for the products to the stand that presented over 16 various product categories.

How to create a stand that has an open plan layout and seems inviting but looks impressive and stands out at the same time?  The answer to all these problems is to incorporate suspended elements into the design. 

The structure suspended above the stand was 3.5 metres in height and over 24 metres in length. It was fixed 6 metres above the ground and it consisted of two layers – the front one made of imprinted filmstrips and the rear shroud made of a semitransparent fabric. The client’s graphics were divided into strips and then each of them was rotated 180 degrees, which created a dynamic frieze. The way it looked changed slightly depending on the angle it was viewed from. It gave the stand an interesting look especially when it was admired from a distance. The frieze  formed a three-dimensional construction which added an air of grandeur but it was relatively light or actually lighter than it could seem – eleven electric hoists were used to lift it. The suspended structure weighed less than a tonne in total.