Media Release

Drees & Sommer at the Expo Real 2021: Changing Normals Since 1970

© Drees & Sommer SE
The Drees & Sommer trade fair booth was designed in line with the principles of the circular economy.

Munich, Germany, October 11, 2021. The Drees & Sommer SE consulting firm is demonstrating at its trade fair booth that innovations not only emerge in the oft-cited ‘new normal’. The specialist in construction and real estate is going with the theme Changing Normals Since 1970 at the exhibition. Since the company was established, Drees & Sommer has aspired to provide futuristic, forward-looking answers to new normalities, or to be ahead of them. So a pioneering spirit and innovation are closely intertwined in the company's DNA. This is also evident at this year's trade fair booth. As promised at the last Expo Real, Drees & Sommer is consistently implementing the Cradle to Cradle design concept – and to do so, it is recycling an abundance of materials and structures.

Back in 2019, the materials used at the trade fair booth were optimized in line with the principles of the circular economy. ‘Normally, major events such as trade shows generate tons of waste in the form of printed walls, countless promotional items and extravagant catering,’ said Sandra Brand, Associate Partner and Head of Corporate Communication at Drees & Sommer. ‘Yet much of it is avoidable, or could be done in a much more environmentally friendly way. At our trade fair booth, we put this into practice so that guests can experience how recyclability could become the norm.’ In addition to the impressive steel frame, the recycled textile ribbons framing the exhibition booth are real eye-catchers. Wooden structures such as the reception counter are made of enhanced reclaimed timber.

Catering will also be regional and vegetarian, in keeping with the sustainable nature of the trade fair booth. This is aimed at encouraging visitors to use resources more consciously.

It Is Not Just at the Trade Fair that It Is All Happening

Drees & Sommer is already applying the Cradle to Cradle principle in a lot of construction projects. A large number of structures, materials and building products are designed in such a way that, at the end of their useful life, they no longer end up in the construction industry’s mountain of waste, a pile that is already much too big. ‘To establish a truly circular economy, we need to focus on materials that are harmless to health and that can later be deconstructed into components of the same kind, allowing them to be fully recycled,’ explained Drees & Sommer’s Executive Board spokesperson Steffen Szeidl. ‘Whether it's a trade fair booth or real estate project: if designed correctly, any structure can be transformed from a graveyard of resources into a depository of raw materials.’ Drees & Sommer used its in-house expertise when designing the trade booth. EPEA GmbH-Part of Drees & Sommer was responsible for Cradle to Cradle consulting. The result is a completely sustainable exhibition booth that minimizes waste after the trade fair.

Special Show Presents Intelligent Tools

At booth B2.121 next door, the Special Show by Drees & Sommer together with various partners will make innovative tools tangible that will shape construction in the future – from a live comparison between built reality and building information modeling (BIM), to robodogs for use on building sites.