An island stand is open on all four sides and surrounded by aisles: no neighbour, no back wall, visible from every direction. Below: 7 island layouts from 50 to 100 sqm with indicative budgets from €800 per sqm for a custom build, the rules organisers usually apply, and real stands we have built since 2006.
Reply within 48 hrs · Show rules checked · Own workshop in France, partner workshops abroad
You have booked 50, 70 or 100 sqm. On an inline or corner plot, part of that surface stands behind your neighbours’ walls and faces nobody. An island turns every side into a front.
Visitors walking the other aisles see your neighbour’s back wall, not your brand. Your stand only exists for one aisle.
Shared partitions take up linear metres you pay for. On an island, every metre of frontage works for your products.
Everyone comes in through the same front: a queue at the desk, a crowded demo, empty corners at the back. Four open sides spread the flow.
An island exhibition stand (or island booth) is a plot open on all four sides and surrounded by aisles. It shares no wall with a neighbour, so every face is on show and visitors can enter from any direction. A peninsula has three open sides and one neighbour at the back, a corner stand two, an inline stand one. The organiser decides which plots are sold as islands and usually keeps them for the larger surfaces.
Illustrative diagram, arrows show the open sides. The organiser decides which plots are sold as islands, peninsulas or corners.
Four open sides catch visitors from every direction. Where the show allows it, a hanging sign marks your position from across the hall.
Below that, a meeting room and storage eat the open floor. From 50 to 100 sqm, an island holds a desk, demos, a closed room and storage without closing a face.
A product launch, the one show of your year, a new brand identity: visitors walk around an island, so what stands in the centre gets seen.
In a high-traffic hall, several entrances spread the crowd: no queue at a single front, more conversations at the same time.
Seven typical layouts for island plots, with indicative budgets on our grid: custom €800 to €1,500 per sqm, reusable modular €600 to €900 per sqm, double-decker €1,000 to €2,000 per developed sqm, excluding VAT, floor space and organiser services. Then estimate your own island with the 1-minute tool below.
Budgets excluding VAT, floor space and organiser services (electricity, rigging, cleaning). People at once = staff and visitors at the same time, counted at about 2.5 sqm of open floor per person. Lead time from brief to show.
We do not rent stands: we design and build stands you own. Rental companies typically charge €300 to €600 per sqm at every show and take the stand back. Here is how the two compare on island sizes.
Assumptions, the same as in our rent vs buy comparison: hiring at €500/sqm per show (market range €300 to €600), modular island bought once at about €667/sqm (within our €600 to €900 range), then about €167/sqm per show for transport, assembly and dismantling. Excl. VAT and floor space. Owning catches up with hiring at the 2nd show and costs less at every show after; hiring only wins for a single show with no plan to exhibit again.
4 questions, an indicative budget on our grid and a suggested layout. No personal data required.
Because an island faces every aisle, organisers watch it closely: open sides, height, hanging signs and upper decks are the usual checkpoints. Here is what we typically meet, with figures checked in published show rules. Always check your own show’s technical rules: we read them with you.
Sources: SIAL Paris 2026 architecture and decoration rules, Mondial du Bâtiment 2022 and EquipHotel 2024 technical rules (Paris Expo Porte de Versailles), HRC 2027 space-only regulations (ExCeL London), IAEE display guidelines (US). Rules change by show, hall and edition: always check your show's technical rules, we read them with you.
An island has no back wall to hide a mistake. Everything is checked on plan first, then built and assembled by one team.
Objectives, visitor flows, the organiser’s plan of your plot and its technical rules.
Each side designed as a front: entrances, sightlines and a sign readable from every aisle.
Dimensioned plans and elevations, plus rigging plan and calculations when needed, sent before the deadline.
In our own workshop for shows in France. Abroad, built locally by our partner workshops and delivered straight to the venue.
Our crews in France, partner crews abroad, always with a TheStandExperts project manager on site.
We dismantle after the show and, for shows in France, store the reusable elements for your next edition.
Three recent stands from 72 to 102 sqm, with the surface stated on each project page. More stands in this range: Safran Morpho at Intertraffic Amsterdam (66 sqm), Safran at the Marrakech Air Show (66 sqm), Safran at AAD Pretoria (60 sqm), Jeff de Bruges at the Salon du Chocolat Paris (nearly 54 sqm), Miltra at Pollutec Lyon (nearly 106 sqm) and Safran at Eurosatory Paris (nearly 115 sqm).
A very open stand built as a sequence of mini spaces (Fibre Entreprise, after-sales, La Poste corner) and a multi-user touch wall of six 55-inch screens. See the project →
Concept adapted from the 2023 and 2024 editions
The stand we designed for CPHI 2023, reused and adapted after Barcelona and Milan: display cases by therapeutic area, a bar, light wood, greenery and LEDs built into the floor. See the project →
Elements reused from the 2023 and 2024 editions
Brand zones around a central hospitality area with an L-shaped bar, a 4 m high partition carrying the group signage and three illuminated totems. See the project →
Three brands on one open floor
On the same surface, a peninsula, an upper deck or a modular build can serve you better. We compare them on your plan before you decide.
Corner, peninsula and island examples in the same size range, with budgets.
An upper deck for meetings, when your show allows it.
Reusable and reconfigurable, the lowest cost per show.
One-off architecture designed from scratch for your brand.
An island has no back wall to hide cables, storage or an awkward angle. Every face is a front, and we design it that way: since 2006, with 150,000 sqm of stands delivered.
François Sire founded TheStandExperts in 2006. On an island project, the work starts from your plot plan and the show’s rules, and every face is checked in 3D before anything is built.
★★★★★
“François Sire and his team have a remarkable ability to grasp our message-simplification challenges. […] Beyond the first sketches, we are always amazed by the final result and its quality of execution.”
Guillaume
Corporate Communications, MACIF · translated from French
★★★★★
“François fully met our needs, listened carefully, showed real creativity, adapted very well to our requirements and always found a solution when needed. He is extremely available and responsive. […] Excellent value for money.”
Aurore Vilette
3Shape · 60 m² stand · translated from French
★★★★★
“If we had to sum up the follow-up: attention to detail and full ownership of every aspect so nothing gets forgotten. It is truly reassuring to have a partner who looks after things this closely. The result exceeded our expectations.”
Hubert Maitre
AFISB · translated from French
In France, your island is built in our own workshop. Abroad, it is built locally by our partner workshops and delivered straight to the venue, with a TheStandExperts project manager on site.
SIAL Paris · Eurosatory · Mondial de l’Auto · VivaTech
Villepinte · Porte de Versailles · Le Bourget · Paris
Sirha Lyon · Eurexpo · Lyon · Marseille · Cannes
InnoTrans Berlin · Frankfurt · Geneva · Dubai
An island stand is a plot open on all four sides and surrounded by aisles. It shares no wall with a neighbour, so visitors can walk in from any direction and every face is on show. The organiser decides which plots are sold as islands, usually the larger ones.
The number of open sides: four for an island, three for a peninsula (one neighbour at the back), two for a corner stand and one for an inline stand. A peninsula keeps a back wall for storage or a tall sign; an island has no back, so storage and closed rooms go in the core. US shows also sell split islands: two peninsulas back to back.
The organiser sets the rule: some shows sell islands only above a minimum surface, and US guidelines describe islands as typically 20 × 20 ft (about 37 sqm) or larger. In practice we advise an island from about 50 sqm: below that, a meeting room and storage take too much of the open floor, and a peninsula often works better.
On our grid, a custom island costs €800 to €1,500 per sqm and a reusable modular island €600 to €900 per sqm, excluding VAT, floor space and organiser services. For example, 64 sqm custom comes to €51,200 to €96,000 and 100 sqm custom to €80,000 to €150,000. With an upper deck, count €1,000 to €2,000 per developed sqm. Our exhibition stand cost guide details every line of the budget.
Each show publishes its own technical rules. The usual checkpoints: each side on an aisle at least 50 % open (SIAL Paris 2026, Mondial du Bâtiment 2022), a maximum height (5.00 m at SIAL Paris 2026, 6 m for space-only stands at HRC 2027 in London), setbacks for tall elements, hanging signs rigged by the venue, fire-rated materials and plans sent before the deadline. We read your show’s rules with you before the 3D.
Yes. Because every side must stay largely open, we place the meeting room and the storage in the core of the stand, set back from the aisles. From about 70 sqm, a 12 to 15 sqm meeting room for 6 to 10 people fits without closing a face.
Often yes: hanging signs are typically allowed over island and peninsula plots, within each show’s rules. The venue’s riggers hang it from an approved rigging plan, and the suspended structure needs a stability check. Height and setbacks are set by the show, for example 20 ft maximum with a 10 ft setback from adjacent booths in the US IAEE guidelines. We supply the structure and the rigging plan, and follow the stability check.
For a custom island, allow 3 to 6 months between the brief and the show. With an upper deck, start earlier: organisers set early deadlines (SIAL Paris 2026 required double-decker floor space to be booked by 31 July for an October show). The plans must reach the technical department before the show’s deadline.
We do not rent stands: we design and build stands you own. Rental companies typically charge €300 to €600 per sqm at every show and take the stand back. On a 72 sqm island over 4 shows, hiring at €500/sqm costs €144,000; a reusable modular island bought once (€48,000) plus €12,000 per show for transport, assembly and dismantling (€48,000) costs €96,000, and you keep the stand. Hiring only makes sense for a single show with no plan to exhibit again. See our rent vs buy comparison.
Building your budget? Read our exhibition stand cost guide, compare the types of exhibition stands or discover our exhibition stand builder services.
Send us your plot number, its dimensions and the show’s technical rules. We reply within 48 hrs with feasibility and a budget range.
Reply within 48 hrs · Show rules checked · Since 2006
