design awards |
|
 |
GOLD AWARD |
Category: Self Promotion
Exhibitor: Ueberholz GmbH
Design/Fabrication: Ueberholz GmbH, Wuppertal, Germany,
49-202-28096-0,
www.ueberholz.de
Show: EuroShop, 2008
Budget: $83,500
Size: 20-by-23 feet
Cost/Square Foot: $182
|
 |
 or EuroShop 2008, exhibit house Ueberholz GmbH created a stone-cold concept that totally — and literally — rocked. As much a musical instrument as a stunning, static display, the extraordinary design featuring 8 tons of sandstone was the brainchild of two industry rock stars, Nico Ueberholz and Andre Fusser of Wuppertal, Germany.
Born of the duo’s desire to communicate with attendees in an utterly unexpected manner, the exhibit’s flagrant focal point comprised six monolithic columns of anrochte calcareous sandstone bathed in neutral brown lighting that subtly shifted to a soothing blue hue and back again. While the four “small” stones at the front of the space were roughly 6.5 feet high and 1 ton each, the colossal columns at the back towered approximately 16.5 feet above the ground and weighed a massive 2 tons each. According to the Exhibit Design Awards judges, the design was “pure genius in its unexpectedness.”
Designers dissected each column with a single cut running through roughly 80 percent of its length, and carved various “tuning slots” — thick dug-out gashes or slim slits — into each stone. When struck with a mallet, each stone emitted a tone, variations of which could be heard by tapping different locations.
Drawn by the visual and auditory lure, booth visitors selected mallets from atop the exhibit’s wooden half walls and hammered away as microphones at the base of each stone projected the tones into the aisles. Meanwhile, the exhibit’s back wall, comprising an interactive LED system connected to the microphones, featured what appeared to be a pool of water. Each time a mallet struck one of the stones, the pool seemed to register its impact with a large splash or a small droplet, depending on the mallet’s force.
Offering an interactive experience, simple yet dramatic elements, and an auditory surprise, Ueberholz’s design rocked in more ways than one. e
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Classic Rock
Throughout the show, groups of attendees gathered in the exhibit to hammer out impromptu concerts on the stones. Ueberholz GmbH also hired musician Olaf Pyras
and dancer Nusara Mai-ngarm to perform once an hour, with Pyras pounding out a soothing melody on the stones and
Mai-ngarm effortlessly gliding between them.
|
|
23rd ANNUAL DESIGN AWARDS: THE WINNERS
|
|
