GOLD AWARD
	Category: Use of Storytelling Exhibitor: Gaggenau Hausgerate GmbH Design: Eins:33 GmbH, Munich, Germany, 49-89-461-33-65-0, www.einszu33.com Fabrication: Altmann Laden- und Innenausbau GmbH, Bonnigheim, Germany, 49-71-43-88-75-0, www.altmann-int.de Show: Eurocucina, 2010 Budget: $390,000 Size: 54-by-55 feet Cost/Square Foot: $131

uring Eurocucina 2010, many exhibitors displayed their wares in a style more fitting for rubies and diamonds at Tiffany's than ovens and freezers at a trade show. But Gaggenau Hausgerate GmbH, a maker of such appliances, decided to abstain from traditional, stuffy exhibiting by recreating part of its factory. It was a bold move that resulted in Exhibit Design Awards judges bestowing the company with a Gold Award for its effective use of storytelling.

Designed by Eins:33 GmbH of Munich, the booth offered visitors what judges admiringly called "a rough and raw space." When attendees entered, their feet met the hard resistance of reinforced cement boards, commonly used for building façades. Following yellow lines, guests inspected displays showing four stages of oven production. Arranged in a C-shape around the space, the displays were placed inside steel, cage-like bins.

Each bin contained 2.5-by-6-inch placards explaining the manufacturing process, as well as parts from the factory. The first showcased pieces of an industrial metal press to show how steel is contorted into ovens. The second display focused on enameling, while the third display featured the appliances' wiring. Finally, the last display showed the dissembled parts of a completed oven.

Looming overhead against a back wall was a 51-foot-long "Gaggenau" sign the company dismantled and transferred from its factory. Below it, steel benches and worn lamps from the factory were scattered throughout the space. Displaying several finished appliances in the exhibit's center, the company brought in a chef to prepare treats for famished attendees. Despite the classy cuisine, it was Gaggenau's scruffy design that set it apart from rivals with a story that used grit instead of glamour.e