Double-decker stands and when permission is granted

1–10 days

build time, near the upper end for a double-decker

Stand types

The four legs of the permit

First the hall. Clear height varies by hall, and the lower ceiling, upper floor deck, balustrade and the void above must all fit inside it. Some halls forbid double-deckers outright, and that appears in the opening pages of the technical manual.

Second the structure. A file signed by a qualified engineer is required, covering column positions, deck loading and occupancy. It is not a standard form; it is prepared against that specific drawing and it takes time.

Third escape. Stair width, balustrade height and the requirement for a second stair above a given occupancy all come from the regulations. Fourth the charge: most venues bill the upper floor area separately. Our exhibition stand services page sets out who prepares that file.

What belongs upstairs and what does not

The upper floor is for meetings and hospitality. A closed meeting room, seating, a small catering point and storage can move up there. Visitors are not expected to drift upstairs on their own; the upper level is invited space.

Heavy exhibits do not go upstairs. The deck is calculated for a distributed load, and machinery, stacked samples or a crowded demonstration area fall outside it. Product display stays on the ground floor.

Where the stair sits is the sharpest decision in the plan. A stair near the frontage eats open floor; a stair in the back corner leaves the upper level unused. The right answer is usually in between, immediately behind the counter.

When it is genuinely needed

A double-decker makes sense for companies with a tight footprint and a heavy meeting load. If you have a hundred square metres and meeting rooms eat forty of them, sixty are left for display. Move those meetings upstairs and display goes back to ninety.

Where more floor is cheaper, the second storey is unnecessary. On a two-hundred-square-metre island, putting the meeting rooms alongside avoids both the permit file and the structural cost.

There is also the visibility argument: a tall mass reads across the hall. That benefit is real, but it cannot justify a second storey on its own; the same visibility comes far more cheaply from a tall fascia and a hanging element.

When is the double-decker application made?

On the date the organiser publishes, at most venues months before the show. After that date the file is refused even if it is technically sound.

How many people can go upstairs?

The occupancy is stated in the structural calculation and the permit file and varies by venue. Stand staff are responsible for keeping to it during the show.