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Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the leading international trade fair for children’s publishing. For the 2025 edition, VM Live created Bulgaria’s exhibition space on behalf of Cultilitera, facing a particular technical challenge: building an exhibition stand around elements the client already owned.
The work involved the execution phase: construction of the structures, production of display furnishings, assembly, and rental. The key aspect was that two central elements of the exhibition stand building were not produced by VM Live but supplied by the client: a proprietary lighting system and an extraordinarily large book. The task was to adapt and enhance them, making them the heart of the space.
The in-house carpentry department developed custom solutions to accommodate them. For the lighting system, it was necessary to study the electrical and mechanical features of the plant and create dedicated supports and housings, managing the electrical connections and light distribution throughout the exhibition stand. For the book, which was of significant weight, load-bearing structures were built and calculated to support it safely and allow the public to browse it.
The exhibition stand building itself develops around these two elements: back walls 12 and 4 meters long by 2.50 meters high, a self-supporting wall, a storage room, and a series of custom display units, including an 8-meter display shelf, two 3-meter shelves, a 2.30-meter counter, and twelve frames of various sizes for the illustrated plates.
It is one of the most technically delicate situations in exhibition stand building, because the margin for error is zero: the element already exists, has fixed dimensions and requirements, and the structure must adapt to it, not the other way around. The work begins with a detailed analysis of the technical specifications of each component before designing any support.
In the case of the lighting system, the analysis addressed electrical and mechanical features: how much it weighs, how it is secured, its power consumption, and where the cables must run. In the case of the book, the issue was purely structural: an extraordinarily large volume exerts a concentrated load that an ordinary shelf cannot support, requiring an adequate base without making the structure visually intrusive.
The success of this type of intervention is measured by how invisible it is: if the visitor perceives the lighting and the book as elements born together with the stand, rather than items placed upon it, the integration has succeeded.
| Client | Cultilitera — Bulgaria's exhibition space |
| Trade fair | Bologna Children's Book Fair — BolognaFiere |
| Year | 2025 |
| Technical challenge | Integration of lighting system and large-scale book provided by the customer |
| Custom exhibition display elements | 8 m shelving unit, two 3 m shelving units, 2.30 m counter, twelve frames |
The concept and main scenographic elements were provided by the client. VM Live acted as an executive partner, drawing on its in-house joinery and electrical engineering capabilities, as well as the adaptation work that allowed pre-existing components to be safely installed in a newly built structure.
The Bulgaria stand returned to Bologna for the following edition with a shared exhibition stand building layout between two cultural associations, while in 2026 VM Live also designed the official space for Colombia at the same trade fair.
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+39 340 274 8454Under took the implementation: construction of structures, custom display units produced in the in-house joinery, integration of customer-provided elements, electrical system, setup, and furniture rental.
A proprietary lighting system and an oversized book. VM Live crafted the necessary supports, housings, and load-bearing structures to install them safely and highlight their features.
For its weight and dimensions: a volume of that size creates a concentrated load that requires calculated support, engineered so that the structure does not look visually intrusive.
From March 31 to April 3, 2025 at BolognaFiere: it is the leading international trade fair dedicated to children’s publishing.
Need help?
3402748454
Carpentry, metal workshop and in-house audio, lighting and LED wall technology: we follow every stage with no middlemen.
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