De Boer builds its reputation at Ecobuild gathering

De Boer Structures has created three stand-alone seminar venues inside London’s Earls Court for use during the innovative Ecobuild gathering. 

Long-standing relationship
Following an initial contract at Ecobuild last year, the company was back for 2008, with its structures used for a range of the 75 high-profile seminar sessions that took place during the three-day event. 

Acropolis structures
Its three Acropolis structures became home to a series of discussions looking at Ecobuild’s key themes of sustainable design, construction and the built environment. 

Sustainability
Specific seminars during Ecobuild considered topics such as adapting to climate change, designing energy-efficient buildings, designing for flood risks, recycling, public art and urban regeneration. Other sessions looked at recent regulatory changes. 

Vast amount of visitors
Ecobuild was organised by International Business Events Limited (IBE). The company organised approximately 75 seminar sessions, 500 exhibitors and 500 speakers for the event, which attracted more than 25,000 visitors. 

Temporary structures
IBE Managing Director David Wood said that the use of temporary structures had proved very effective for events such as Ecobuild. “The large-scale venues that we need for our exhibition space don’t generally support conference facilities very well,” he explained. “The De Boer style of structure lends itself very much to what we are trying to achieve.” 

Flexibility
He added: “We used De Boer’s Panorama structure very successfully last year but this year we held a broader programme of seminar sessions. The Acropolis structures suited this much better.” 

High-profile visitors
Ecobuild – the largest event of its kind in Europe – was attended by a number of high-profile figures including politicians Nick Raynsford, John Gummer and Michael Meacher. The London Mayoral candidates for the three main political parties – Labour’s Ken Livingstone, the Conservatives’ Boris Johnson and the Lib Dems’ Brian Paddick – were also on the guest list. Other speakers ranged from entrepreneur Wayne Hemingway to Eden Project founder Tim Smit. 

Exhibition, conference and seminar space
This year’s Ecobuild included an exhibition, conference, seminar sessions and a number of attractions including demonstrations of products and techniques associated with sustainable design, construction and the built environment. 

Building on previous successes
De Boer Sales Manager Kate Hunter said: “De Boer was involved with Ecobuild for the first time in 2007 when we erected our Panorama structure inside Earls Court. We were delighted to have been invited back this year and to offer three separate locations for the seminar sessions.”