Beating a stylish retreat
Meeting people is one of the main purposes of exhibition and conference attendance. To address this need, venues are offering functional yet increasingly atmospheric business lounges.
Things are happening at trade fairs and conferences - and not only in the halls and auditoria. Specially appointed business lounges cater to the need for somewhere restful to retire to, offering peace and quiet and an opportunity for undisturbed conversation.
A discreet revolution is also taking place in their furnishings, with demand waning for the functionality once required of a place to work in. Mobile equipment now means that data can be processed and called up and voice communication conducted from anywhere the user wishes. These days a lounge is sought out to do business when there is nowhere to negotiate discreetly at one's own exhibition stand or as a meeting point to make contacts or intensify relationships during meeting breaks. Besides which, the exhibitors in the lounge are hosts as well as guests, says exhibition company Messe Berlin by way of explanation for the popularity of its lounges. Exhibitors save time and distance by inviting their clients to the lounge, which they can also use for evening functions, and can be contacted at any time through the central information desk. Access to these lounges can be restricted in different ways. Some are available to all participants, others to VIPs only.
These altered needs have also given rise to altered expectations of lounge furnishings. After all, an exclusive atmosphere helps convey a greater sense of the value of the talks held there. Given this trend, it is obvious that fairly new and state-of-the-art exhibition and conference centres will have the edge. Foremost among these at present is NürnbergMesse with its conference center CCN Ost opened in April, offering exceptional facilities for relaxation on all floors. "A conference centre must be more than simply somewhere to hold meetings," NürnbergMesse CEO Bernd A. Diederichs says of the concept. "It must be full of life, of people coming together, sharing their experiences, views and knowledge. Our job is to create the space for this."
In harmony with the building's clear colour distinctions, the deep-yellow Copernicus Lounge on the yellow second floor and the marine-blue Galileo Lounge on the blue third floor await the guest. While both have the same floorplate and are fitted out with Moroso furniture, their colour compositions mean that one has a stimulating and the other a soothing effect.
The pièce de resistance in the new centre, the Mercator Lounge, is located on the first floor. "The client wanted a dignified, pleasant atmosphere," says Helga H.E. Janzon, a free-lance interior decorator from Hanover who has worked since 1998 for NürnbergMesse. For this she chose earthy colours and natural minerals. Carpets handmade from hemp, silk and rape and designed by Janzon and her team in a russet floral pattern give structure to the room, dividing it into different seating areas: small groups can confer on rust-red, fishbone-patterned sofas for three by BB, while individuals relax in high-backed, orange-coloured swivel chairs by Hansen. Armchairs of dark wood covered in leather by Flexform are placed to the right of the room. Dark walnut parquet flooring and cactus trees emphasise the club character. The five metre-high ceiling is used atmospherically, hung with myriad ball-shaped lamps fashioned from sisal webbing. A separate working section, a self-service counter, newspaper stands and technical facilities round off the lounge. A sun terrace is in the pipeline.
Arguably unique in Germany's exhibition and meetings world to date is the adjacent Silentio Lounge, a lounge within a lounge, so to speak, where absolute silence reigns. A few adjustable feel-good relaxing armchairs are grouped around the wave and light installation "Wave Dream by Helmut Eigenmann". A thick, dark red carpet absorbs all sound. Only the gentle movement of the water, effectively projected onto the ceiling, and gently piped relaxing music capture the visitor's attention.
Janzon explains the rationale behind the amenities in the CCN Ost: "People travel more nowadays, and as a result they have different expectations of the places they visit. Nuremberg may not be the biggest exhibition centre in the country, but here everything always revolves around people."
In Hamburg a state-of-the-art exhibition venue, Neue Messe Hamburg, is currently in the making. There, too, attention is being paid to retreats. The 140 m2 VIP Club in Hall 14 is scheduled to open in time for this year's hanseboot boat show from October 29 to November 6. And in every new hall suitable rooms will be available, either for use as offices or capable of swift transformation into business lounges.
Modernisation of Koelnmesse exhibition centre and construction of the new northern halls will also bring with it two guest clubs, including a new facility in the Congress-Centrum Nord, in use for the first time at imm cologne 2006. "Visitors to the new guest club will enjoy their stay in even more superior surroundings," Karsten Deicke, Koelnmesse, insists. Messe Frankfurt likewise sets great store by customer bonding. The Tulip Club grants selected professional attendees access to the two business lounges in Halls 5 and 9 during exhibitions. The former was coordinated by Messe Frankfurt building department and decorated in 2002 by Designers House. The lounge in Hall 9 is the result of cooperation between Habernoll & Vest and Messe Frankfurt. For the world's biggest leader fairs, CeBIT and Hanover Fair, the exclusive Hermes Lounge is available on the 18th floor of exhibition company Deutsche Messe AG's administrative building in Hanover, offering a view over the entire exhibition grounds. It is there that all high-ranking national and international delegations are welcomed. Thomas Herzog, the building's architect, also drew up the plans for its interior decoration. So retreat is often the better part of valour - and guests are guaranteed to emerge freshly receptive to the impressions crowding in on them from a day spent at an exhibition or conference. Anja Wagner
m+a report Nr.6 / 2005 vom 23.09.2005
m+a report vom 23. September 2005