GREENBUILD 2011: Kohler builds sustainable booth at Greenbuild 2011

From the reclaimed barn wood building materials to the soy ink signage, the new booth created by Kohler Co. for the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo was planned to leave a big impression while following the U.S. Green Building Council’s green tradeshow guidelines.

Inside the booth are many of the company’s innovative water-saving products, showcased in the kind of gracious, forward-thinking setting for which Kohler has become renowned.

“Greenbuild is about innovation in all aspects of all processes. In keeping with that, we looked at how we planned and executed a tradeshow in a completely new way,” commented Rob Zimmerman, engineering manager for water conservation and sustainability at Kohler. “To be genuinely conscientious, we had to analyze every element right down to what happens to the booth and its contents after the show is over.”

The Kohler booth is made up of four distinct suites: three common commercial spaces (a hotel restroom, a stadium restroom, and a healthcare restroom) and a residential space to show visitors how they can impact the environment by using water-conserving technologies and sustainable products. The attention to the materials used for these vignettes and the conservational nature of the overall display were planned out to the smallest details.

All displays were designed to fit into one 53-foot truck to limit the transportation costs.

The structures are built from reclaimed barn wood, and portions of the booth will be reused for other shows.

The products will be donated after the show and all the other building materials were designed for repackaging upon return shipment. BD+C

Boyd R. Zoccola is Chair and Chief Elected Officer of BOMA International. A BOMA member since 1994, he has served on the Executive, Finance, Investment, and Medical/Healthcare Facilities Committees. An Indiana Real Estate Principal Broker and a board member of the Real Estate Round Table, he is Executive Vice President of Hokanson Companies, Inc., of Indianapolis, and has been involved in the development of $600 million worth of real estate. On a volunteer basis, Zoccola was president of Horizon House and a board member of Girls, Inc. He holds a BA in biology from Indiana University.