Cardboard Modular Stand

August 2006, Madrid, Spain – HONORABLE MENTION

Fairs are temporary events that require quick assembling, easy transportation, high standardization, but at the same time demand an overall attractive and new image with personalized, individual stands.
This is the hideous aspect of these events; in order to hide the generic the exhibitors apply a fake opulence to their stands to compensate for their lack of individualism and design – a total irony: the stand fighting against standardization.

We propose cardboard as the single and unifying material for constructing these events: for partitions, furniture, etc… and yet allow for 100% personalization. In this proposal we present some solutions for stands using only cardboard, but our aim is to present the huge potential of cardboard material for this type of event. Cardboard satisfies the most important requirements of temporary fairs: quick assembling, easy transportation, personalization of the stand, and 100% recyclability.

-Recyclable: Cardboard is 100 % recyclable and can be produced out of almost 100% recycled material.
-Personal: Every image can be printed on it and every shape can be cut out of it. Local competitions may be organized for the design of each fair, each piece of furniture, etc…
-Easy configuration: The possibilities of organization are endless: from a traditional grid lay-out, to isolated cubicles, or organic forms…
-Simplicity: With a maximum width of 3,3 m, and almost unlimited length, we may produce a stand out of a single piece.
-Resistance and Stability: By applying different techniques of folding, or introducing other cardboard pieces, we provided the cardboard with the necessary stability.
-Minimum volume: Cardboard is much lighter than traditional materials for stands, and every piece: walls, tables, etc… may be delivered unfolded, allowing for very efficient transportation.
-Easy assembling: Assembling does not require professional workers, or complicated tools. The union of the elements is based in folding or clipping.
-Fire resistant: Plain cardboard is not sufficiently fire resistant, but by applying a burnish on the surface or adding substances to its composition during the production process we can make it satisfactorily fire resistant.
-Water resistant: The stands do not need to be water resistant, however, by applying a film on the surface or increasing the number of layers we can make the material significantly more water resistant.
-Economical: Not only do we save money in transportation and in assembling, but in production as well. A 3×3 stand of MD panels and an aluminium structure would cost around € 2500 while a cardboard stand can be produced for less than € 80. Cardboard furniture is much cheaper as well and  allows for personal beautification.

The following matrix is a catalogue of the different requirements for stands: open, enclosed, roofed, with storage, with exhibition …, and the proposed solutions using different cardboard systems.

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Title: Todo es de Cartón
Project name: Modular Systems Competition
Date: August 2006
Type: International Open Competition
Organizer: OCAM
Participants: 69
Ranking: HONORABLE MENTION
Location: Madrid, Spain
Site: IFEMA
Programme: Solutions for the temporary exhibitions fairs.
Surface: N/A
Status: Competition
Client: IFEMA, Madrid
Budget: N/A
Awards: HONORABLE MENTION
STAR Team: Beatriz Ramo, Johannes Pointl, Simon Davis