Akros Mimarlık
Sustainable stands
Structures that come back, materials that can be separated, smaller freight volumes and less waste left in the hall. Design decisions rather than certificates.
An exhibition stand is a temporary structure. It stands for a few days and then goes either into storage or into a skip. The argument starts with that sentence: the life of a stand is set at the drawing board, not in the last hour of the fair.
We make no measurable claim. We publish no carbon figure, no certificate name and no percentage, because writing a number we cannot verify would be a way of not taking the subject seriously. What we can describe are the decisions: reuse the structure, choose materials that can be separated, shrink the freight volume.
4 of our 8 stand types are designed to be taken down and put back up. The comparison is on the stand types page and the cost side on the cost calculation page.
01
Reuse
The most effective decision is the dullest one: take the same structure to the second fair. In modular and maxima systems the aluminium profile and the panels come apart, are numbered and stored. What changes at the next show is the graphics; the printed surface is the shortest-lived part of a stand, because the message changes every time.
Reuse depends on a design decision. Keep panel dimensions standard and the same part finds a place in a different floor plan. Let dimensions become bespoke each time and the system is useless on its second outing. A one-off decision taken at the first fair comes back as a cost at the third.
Storage belongs in the same calculation. A system kept dry and on a rack waits for years; the limit is not the life of the material but the life of the brand identity.
02
Material, freight and waste
Timber, aluminium and printed surfaces can be recovered if they can be collected separately at the end. Bonded composite surfaces cannot be separated, which is why mechanical fixings are preferred to glue. Screwed joints also speed up the dismantle.
Carpet is the largest single-use item at most fairs. At many venues it is lifted and thrown away when the show closes. Solving the floor with a demountable platform instead of carpet lowers both the waste and the cost of the next fair.
Freight volume usually matters more than weight. Flat-packed parts mean fewer lorries. Waste and recycling rules differ hall by hall; sources such as UFI and Messe Frankfurt publish the rules in force.
- 01
Separate the structure
Keep the structure and the surface cladding as two layers. The surface changes at every fair; the structure stays.
- 02
Keep dimensions standard
Standard panel and profile sizes let the same part serve a different floor plan. Every bespoke dimension lowers the chance of reuse.
- 03
Choose mechanical fixings
Screws and clips beat glue and filler. What comes apart can be separated, and what is separated can be recovered.
- 04
Shrink the freight volume
Flat-packed parts mean fewer lorries. Volume, more than weight, drives the freight price and the handling on site.
- 05
Keep graphics independent
Let the printed surface change without touching the structure. A new message should not require a new stand.
- 06
Write the dismantle plan
How the stand comes apart and where it goes is settled at design stage. An unplanned dismantle is rushed, and rushed dismantles make waste.
- Does a sustainable stand cost more?
Usually a little more at the first fair and less at the second. A reusable system returns for the second show at the cost of freight, installation and new graphics.
- Do you publish a carbon figure or a certificate?
No. Writing a number without a verified measurement would mislead. What we can state is concrete: which parts are reused, which materials can be separated, how many lorries leave the workshop.
- Does a rental stand count as reuse?
It does. With a rental system the structure stays with us and is rebuilt at other fairs; you use it for one show. Storage and maintenance are on us.
Do you have your fair dates?
The fair name, dates, floor area and number of open sides are enough. We come back within two working days with a concept and a budget range.