How to read a venue technical manual

8 stand types

stand types assessed against venue conditions

Stand types

Technical drawings and approval

the service step that prepares the approval file

Exhibition stand services

The five clauses to read first

A manual is a thick document, but the part that binds the design is short. Not a line gets drawn before these five clauses are read.

The answer to each clause is often a condition rather than a number. Height limits read as "above this level, approval applies"; the fire clause asks for a specific certificate; floor loading is defined over a stated area. Copy those conditions word for word into the notes instead of summarising them.

1. Maximum height. It varies by hall, and above a certain height most venues require separate approval. If a tall element casts a shadow onto a neighbour, a setback may be imposed as well.
2. The wall facing the neighbour. Your side of a shared wall is yours; the side facing them normally has to be left flat and white, with no graphics.
3. Fire class. Certificates are required for timber, textiles, carpet and print media. Uncertified material can be removed on site.
4. Rigging permission. It depends on the roof structure, and some halls do not offer it at all.
5. Floor loading. Heavy exhibits may need load-spreading plates.

Write the venue’s figure against each clause, and that single page becomes the frame for the design.

Items that need approval

The second half of a manual is usually the approvals list: double-decker structures, closed ceilings, rigging, tall towers, kitchens with open flame, water connections, heavy machinery. Each has its own form and its own deadline.

Some of those forms carry a fee and some are notifications only. Knowing which is which affects the budget: an item subject to approval sometimes attracts an examination charge and sometimes only asks for drawings. Asking at quotation stage removes the surprise line that otherwise appears a month before the show.

What the approval file asks for is standard: scaled plans, elevations, a section, structural calculations and material certificates. If those already exist from the design stage, the file is assembled in a day. If they do not, approval delays the design and the delay lands on production.

Approval is not a formality. A rejected drawing is revised and resubmitted, and that loop can take weeks. So the manual is read straight after the brief; it is one of the first steps in our stand design process, and anything likely to be questioned is deliberately built last.

What late reading costs

Reading the manual late costs in two currencies. Money first: late application fees, material swapped on site, an element cancelled. Then time: a redrawn design, recalculated structure, a part remade.

There is a third cost: standing. When a hall inspection stops an element, the neighbouring stands watch it happen, the exhibitor ends up in an argument on the floor, and the rest of the build runs tense. That line never reaches an invoice, but it affects how the crew performs for the remainder of the show.

The second one hurts more, because it comes out of the schedule. Once production has started, a change stops the workshop, and a cut panel does not uncut itself. An approval problem surfacing a fortnight before build-up usually gets solved by making the stand smaller, and what results is nobody’s idea of the design.

A practical rule: download the manual the day the space contract is signed and mark the five clauses. Venues do publish updated versions, so check the exhibitor portal once more before the show. Working from last year’s file is the easiest and the most expensive mistake.

Who reads the manual, exhibitor or contractor?

Both. The contractor reads the technical clauses, the exhibitor the charges, insurance and deadlines. The clauses in between are shared responsibility.

What if the manual is not in English?

Most large venues publish an English version. Where they do not, read it through a local contact; a single misread clause can stop the build.