Tasked with making the lighting of an overall area of 2,200sq.m look stunning, TLD pulled out all the stops to ensure that the show was a success for Mercedes Benz' and Manufaktur Maybach's parent company DaimlerChrysler AG. TLD began work four months prior to the show's opening, when chief LD Richard Profe analyzed how the vehicles would look under the different colour temperatures of various fixtures. Profe then moved on to specify the lighting for the service areas, offices and conference rooms, before setting out the emergency lighting.A mock-up of the principal stand elements, including lamps, was built in a huge hall close to TLD's Stuttgart office, and established that the choice of lamps was correct: Jens Probst, one of TLD's regular freelancers, was then able to pre-programme the stand lighting.
"The challenge of a big trade-show stand is to create a new design while staying true to the corporate image of the client," said Richard. "Although similar materials will be used to maintain continuity, no two show stands are ever the same. Building a prototype of the stand saves the client time and money, plus ensured that the concept works as expected. In addition, the time setting up at the Geneva Motor Show is always very tight, so it is essential to ensure in advance that everything is exactly right and can be set up as quickly as possible."
At Geneva, TLD began by hanging 6,500 vertical white neon lamps, designed in partnership with architect Kauffmann Theilig & Partner of Stuttgart and communications agency Atelier Markgraph GmbH of Frankfurt, under the ceiling of the hall. This provided a visual link between all the stands occupied by the DaimlerChrysler brands, symbolizing the parent company as a 'roof' over all of them. The 'creative' lighting element was both comprehensive and complex. In total, TLD specified 2,650ft of black powder-coated 16" box truss, 1,550ft of black powder-coated steel pipe, 200 black Par 64s, 180 2500W and 1200W Arri Sun HMI, 100 High End ColorCommands, 20 High End Studio Beams, 10 2500W Robert Juliat d'Ártagnans and 300 floodlights. All the lighting was controlled by Wholehog III lighting consoles.
(Lee Baldock)
