Düsseldorf trade fair centre, southern entrance
The company now known as Messegesellschaft Messe Düsseldorf GmbH was originally founded under the name of Nordwestdeutsche Ausstellungsgesellschaft mbH – NOWEA on 7 January 1947. This was initially inspired by a suggestion by the British occupying forces to organise a “showcase of commercial services and exports”. However, a number of other exhibitions were added as early as the late 1940s, leading to the creation of a permanent trade fair company, the Messegesellschaft.
Development of the trade fair centre up to 1971
The trade fair scene in Germany underwent a fundamental change at the end of the Second World War. With the division of Germany, the Leipzig trade show – which had previously been the country’s leading event – was no longer a direct competitor, leading to new trade fair companies being established in West Germany. In 1947, the Düsseldorf trade fair grounds were established under the name Nordwestdeutsche Ausstellungsgesellschaft mbH – NOWEA to provide a further boost to the region’s powerful centre for trade fairs. It focused particularly on specialist trade fairs. The trade fair grounds were set up temporarily in the halls of the Ehrenhof building and Kunstpalast palace. In the years that followed, the trade fair grounds were gradually expanded but – due to the spatial conditions and increasing numbers of exhibitors and visitors – the operators soon hit their limit in terms of capacity. They went looking for a new site and found the current home of the trade fair in Stockum. The trade fair company has been based their since 1971.
The majority of today’s exhibition grounds originate from the building constructed in 1971, which has since been expanded and upgraded.
Today, Düsseldorf trade fair centre offers a total of 261,817 m² in hall space. The individual halls range from 4,000 m² to a maximum of 25,000 m². The halls are arranged in a ring and are connected by corridors. Messe Düsseldorf GmbH’s offices are located in two multi-storey buildings on the southern side of the trade fair grounds.
A plateau connected to trade fair hall 6 (RheinHalle) provides a direct link to the Merkur Spiel-Arena, which is on the northern edge of the trade fair grounds. Hall 6’s unique position enables it to run on a stand-alone basis from the rest of the trade fair grounds. Primary access to the trade fair grounds runs through the northern entrance. It offers a direct link to the public transport network and shuttle buses that bring visitors to the trade fair car parks. The southern entrance was converted and expanded in 2018/2019.
GU solution: escape route sliding door systems
Source: Wikipedia
