Messe Frankfurt opened its new Hall 5 today in Germany.
The opening coincides with the start of its three key international consumer goods fairs: Ambiente, Christmasworld and Creativeworld. But automotive aftermarket professionals know it best as the home of Automechanika Frankfurt.
With 18,110 square meters in exhibition space, the hall now offers highly flexible options for all event formats. As well as this, Hall 5 has set a new record for exhibition space: the trade fair trio that opens its doors today is the largest-ever Messe Frankfurt consumer goods event to be held at its Frankfurt base.
“Today, as our three international consumer goods fairs get underway, we can be sure that it was the right decision to forge ahead with the construction of the new Hall 5 – in spite of the pandemic that brought our business to a standstill and deprived us of steady income,” said Uwe Behm, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt, during the opening ceremony. “We were able to invest in Hall 5 because our shareholders – the City of Frankfurt and the federal state of Hesse – believed in our trade fair business model during the pandemic and in the solid economic stability of Messe Frankfurt.”
As Supervisory Board Chairperson Stephanie Wüst, City Councillor and Head of the City’s Department of Economy, Legal Affairs and Reform, said: “We wish all exhibitors a successful trade fair and all visitors an enjoyable stay in our city. By taking part in trade fairs here, they not only help to boost business travel revenue in Frankfurt but also its international significance as a business centre. Messe Frankfurt has steadily increased its sales revenue for decades, generating a socio-economic effect of approximately €3.6 billion. Our aim is to keep Messe Frankfurt primed for the future.”
Tarek Al-Wazir, Hessian Minister for Economics and Deputy Chairman of the trade fair company’s Supervisory Board, said: “Hesse is one of the leading economic regions in Europe – we are an innovative and international location. Our global network is more visible and tangible at Messe Frankfurt than virtually anywhere else in the world.”
Construction of the new hall, which was designed by Frankfurt architectural office Gruber + Kleine-Kraneburg Architekten, began in April 2020. The old Hall 5 was demolished in Fall 2019 directly after the Frankfurt Book Fair.
As the previous hall had been woven closely into the architecture of the grounds, the basic conditions for the new Hall 5 have been defined exactly except for a small number of secondary aspects. It is situated next to the Congress Center, Hall 6 and the Via Mobile moving walkway. The required planning precision was achieved thanks to the sterling work of the architects, planners, structural engineers, construction workers and Messe Frankfurt’s own Construction Department.
“The primary component of the new building is the column-free hall area on Level 5.1 with a direct connection to the CMF,” said architect Martin Gruber of Gruber + Kleine-Kraneburg Architekten, the firm responsible for designing the hall. “This area stands out due to its subtle white surfaces and provides exhibitors and congress organizers alike with a low-key and versatile area. The south façade looking out over the Agora contrasts with a confident colour accent and unique folded metal façade.”
Burkhard Schmidt, Managing Director of the Zech Group SE, the general contractor for Hall 5, said: “In this case, we didn’t build on an outdoor area like we are now doing with our joint ‘Messeplatz’ project, for which we will be laying the foundation stone in two weeks or so. We built this hall on the site of a previous building, which was a real challenge for us too, not least due to the exceptional circumstances brought about by the coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine crisis.”
The new Hall 5 offers a total of 18,110 square meters in exhibition space on two levels and a foyer with over 1,250 square meters of event space.
From Level 5.1, visitors can access the Congress Center’s Harmonie hall directly. In the opposite direction, Hall 5 has a direct connection to the neighboring Hall 6. This means that events of different sizes can be combined with congresses.
The Hall 5 has a “green roof” planted with sedum sprouts. These are good for the microclimate and have a cooling effect on hot days, Messe Frankfurt said in a statement.
For the latest news and information on the global automotive aftermarket industry, visit https://aftermarketintel.com. Do you have news? Contact Aftermarket Intel Editor Mark Phillips at mark@lpnewmedia.com. He’s on LinkedIn here.
