For well over a decade, Lorenc+Yoo has been creating extraordinary exhibition spaces for commercial real estate customers at trade shows arranged by the International Council of Shopping Centers. The firm’s award-winning spaces for Sony-Ericsson, Related and others have become renowned for their beauty, durability, and functionality.
At ICSC’s RECON show in May 2011, Lorenc+Yoo–in collaboration with longtime partner Journey Communications Inc.–created a sleek, corporate space for national commercial real estate company Brookfield. Brookfield’s property portfolio spans the United States, Canada and Australia, allowing it to claim many of the most prestigious buildings in the skylines of New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Toronto, Melbourne, and elsewhere.
Lorenc+Yoo designed Brookfield’s exhibition to immediately indicate its high stature in the real estate industry. The design team showcased Brookfield’s projects via a series of unified video monitors at the front of the space accompanied by casual, comfortable seating for visitors to use while waiting for a meeting room to become available.
Three separate meeting rooms for private conversations exist within the space, each expressing a consistent, minimalist, and high quality design vernacular–a rarity for trade show exhibits. Television displays are sunken into the wall in an effort not to disrupt the sleek lines of the space. Additionally, overhead lights shine from a canopy above, providing the illusion of a ceiling within the tall convention hall.
Rather than directing visitors’ attention to any particular elements of the space, the Brookfield exhibition provides a noninvasive backdrop. This allows Brookfield associates to cater to their visitor’s business needs exclusively and avoid needless distractions.
The design team kept the exhibit’s overall material palette simple: a metallic laminate to mimic metal architectural panels, Carrera marble for table and desk tops, and Coach leather fabric for the seating. Additionally, a glowing glass reception desk identified the Brookfield identity gracefully.
“We are very proud of the design for the Brookfield exhibition at ICSC,” says Jan Lorenc. “This is one of the first major real estate exhibitors for whom we’ve had the honor to create a successful project, and we are looking forward to continue work for these sorts of dynamic clients.