This ESCRS exhibition stand for Leica Microsystems was engineered around one heavy, delicate instrument.
Client Leica Microsystems · Congress ESCRS 2022, the European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons, Milan · Dates 16–20 September 2022 · Area 10 m², 4 × 2.5 m · Sector Surgical microscopy
Ten square metres, carrying a surgical microscope
ESCRS is where Europe’s cataract and refractive surgeons meet, and the exhibition beside the congress is where they try the equipment they operate with. An ESCRS exhibition stand is, in effect, a demonstration room. For Leica Microsystems that means one thing above all: a surgeon has to be able to sit down, look through the eyepieces of an ophthalmic microscope, and see a perfectly steady image.
Consequently, on a 10 m² stand that turns a small build into a precise one. A surgical microscope is heavy, it arrives on wheels, and a raised stand floor that flexes under a footstep will shake at the eyepiece. Therefore we specified everything on this stand around that instrument.
| Element | As built |
|---|---|
| Area | 10 m², 4 × 2.5 m |
| Floor | Metal-reinforced for heavy equipment, so the floor does not bounce |
| Access | A ramp for bringing the microscope onto the stand, and a removable wheelchair ramp |
| Branding | Laser-cut, backlit 3D Leica letters on two walls; a hanging sign above the stand |
| Feature panel | Timber-effect wall with built-in device charging |
| Back of house | Storage room, built into the stand |
| Hospitality | Glass table and chairs, 50″ screen, coffee service and chilled water |
A floor that does not move
The specification has one line that most stand builders never write: floor metal reinforcement for high weights, to prevent the floor bouncing. Normally, a raised floor carries people, furniture and the occasional display. However, it cannot cope with a heavy microscope that surgeons test for five days and that must not tremble at the eyepieces.
So we stiffened the platform with steel beneath the decking and built a ramp to roll the instrument on rather than lift it. In August we also revised the drawings to add a second, removable ramp for wheelchair access — a small stand is no excuse for a step that some visitors cannot cross.
Being found on 10 square metres
A small stand at a busy congress has a visibility problem before it has a design problem. Here, then, the answer is height rather than width: a hanging sign in Leica red above the stand, its height reset in the August revision so it can be read down the aisle, with backlit three-dimensional letters on the walls below for the visitor who is already close.
Meanwhile, the palette stays restrained on purpose — white walls, one timber panel, the brand’s red in the logo and nowhere else. On a stand this size, after all, a second colour would be noise.
An ESCRS exhibition stand built to Italian congress rules
Finally, exhibiting in Italy brings its own paperwork. ESCRS Milan required a DUVRI — the Italian document that assesses the risks created when several contractors work in the same venue at once — plus the congress safety procedure, rigging and cleaning orders, and an electrical order with every socket and HDMI point positioned on the drawing. We ordered rigging, cleaning and electricity in July, weeks before the build.
The crew finished the stand on 15 September, the day before the congress opened.
Services delivered
- Design development and technical drawings, including the August revisions
- Metal-reinforced raised floor and equipment ramp
- Removable wheelchair ramp
- Laser-cut backlit 3D letters and hanging sign
- Storage room, furniture, AV and hospitality supply
- Italian safety documentation (DUVRI), rigging, cleaning and electrical orders
- Installation and dismantling in Milan, with on-site management
Frequently asked questions
Do you build an ESCRS exhibition stand or other medical congress stands?
Yes. This stand was built for Leica Microsystems at ESCRS 2022 in Milan, and we have delivered stands at other European medical congresses including EASD.
Can a stand floor carry heavy medical equipment?
Yes, if it is specified for it. Here the raised floor was reinforced with metal so that a surgical microscope could be demonstrated without the floor flexing.
What documents does an exhibition contractor need in Italy?
Typically a DUVRI risk-interference document, the venue’s safety procedure, and rigging, cleaning and electrical orders. We prepare and file them as part of the job.