Cologne 2010: students at Trier University of Applied Science in Germany have built a stand at design fair imm Cologne by stacking up pizza boxes.

Called Booth-generator, and part of the [D3] Schools exhibition, the project was shaped by a computer program that uses information about the site, balanced with the required qualities of the booth itself to design the most appropriate structure.

Inside the exhibition booth, information is displayed about the university, the students involved and the process that lead to the production of the installation itself.

More information on the project website.

See all our stories about Cologne 2010 in our special category.

Here's some more information about the project from the university:

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For the installation at the IMM2010 we have developed a „booth-generator“ that balances the conditions of a certain stand place (size, direction, etc.) with the requirements of a specific exhibition space and its desired atmosphere.

With the aid of a computer-program written in Rhinoscript/Visual Basic these parameters are processed and evaluated in an iterative design-process to then manifest themselves as one possible solution for a trade-fair stand.

In order to guarantee both the manufacturability by a group of students and the disposal after usage, we have contrasted a high-tech design tool with the low-tech and easy to recycle material "pizza box“: the layering of an actually trite material becomes aesthetically exaggerated through its gradual shifts and deformations.

A peculiar tension arises between the fascination for the technologically possible and the visibility of a building-process based on very basic financial as well as technical possibilities.

The deformed walls create an enclosed and concentrated space that is detached from the liveliness of the surrounding corridors.

In the center of this space we document the project through a beamer-projection of a short portrait of the University of Applied Sciences Trier, the group of students involved and the development of the installation itself.

Thus this booth represents the creative atmosphere of our university that enables such experimental projects as it supports the ambition to carry out a possible result of such a project.

The installation has been developed in a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort of Fachhochschule Trier’s departments interior architecture, architecture and intermedia design.

The concept and script has been developed by Jan Weber and Eva Ziegler, students from the department of Interior Architecture.

The project has been led by Prof. Ingo Krapf, department industrial and exhibition design, and Prof. Holger Hoffmann, department digital design.