Storage and back-of-house: the invisible square metres

Boxes, coats, catering, boards

the four groups that go into storage, all of them planned

Stand design

1–10 days

build-up time, at the end of which the empty boxes appear

Stand types

The empty box problem

In the last hour of build-up a pile appears: the boxes the products came in, packing foam, cable drums, the tool case. Venues do not allow empties to be left in the hall; they either go into the store or into a chargeable empties service.

Most venues run an empties service, and it costs money. But if products have to be swapped or samples refreshed during the show, you need access to those boxes, so sending everything away is not always right. Writing the contents on the outside of each box saves time when someone is hunting for a sample on day four.

The practical answer is to split them: what will be used stays in the stand store, what will not goes to the empties service. Under our installation service we make that split on site on build-up day.

The store door and what is behind it

Which way the door faces decides how often the store will irritate you. A door onto the aisle spoils the face of the stand; a door behind the meeting table interrupts a conversation every time it opens. The right place is usually the gap between the counter and the wall.

The door should lock, and more than one person should hold a key. Most of what goes missing over four days walks out of an unlocked store.

Inside, you need shelving. Without it the store becomes a stack of boxes within two hours, and reaching the bottom one means taking every other one out. A coat rail, a bin and a socket keep it in order.

Catering and services

The catering corner is the most used part of a stand. Water, a coffee machine, glasses, a fridge and somewhere to wash up call for a small counter. Put it inside the meeting area and noise breaks up conversations; put it inside the store and the team walks in and out all day. The best position is between the two, half hidden.

The services area holds the distribution board, the consumer unit, the network device and the screen sources. Keep the space in front of the board clear; if something fails during the show, someone has to reach it.

One last detail: waste. Without a designated point, rubbish collects under the tables. Plan a bin position that is out of sight but has a lid.

Does the store count against the floor area?

Yes, it comes out of the space you rented. Which is why the balance between store size and display area belongs in the brief.

Can the top of the store be used?

It can. The roof of the store makes a high graphic surface or a lighting support. If it is to carry load, the structure is calculated separately.