Overview
The Paul Mitchell build was a full-ballroom takeover — wall-to-wall custom carpentry and finished panel walls staged inside a hotel ballroom, not a convention hall, with the AES crew working around fixed architectural features, hotel carpet protection, and noise/access constraints across a multi-day install. From raw frame to finished face, every wall section, riser, and trim detail was assembled, faced, and dressed on-site so the room turned over clean for the Paul Mitchell brand experience.
Inside the ballroom during build
Challenge
Paul Mitchell’s build wasn’t a booth on a show floor — it was a full hotel ballroom transformed into a branded brand environment, which meant working under hospitality-venue rules instead of convention-center rules. Plywood-frame walls, finished face panels, raised platforms, and display carpentry all had to be built and dressed inside the ballroom itself, with the AES crew protecting hotel carpet and architectural finishes the entire time.
The full install ran roughly 200 hours from initial layout through finish detail, and every step had to be sequenced around ballroom access, noise windows, and the hotel’s load-in restrictions — leaving no margin for rework once finished panels were standing.
"A ballroom is a tougher build than a show floor. You have to protect what's already there — the carpet, the walls, the chandeliers — while you're standing up a brand-new room inside it."
— Site Lead, AES
Approach
Ballroom Survey & Protection Plan
Walked the ballroom with the venue ahead of move-in to map fixed architectural features, sconces, chandelier zones, and emergency egress — then dropped carpet protection and corner-guards before a single piece of plywood came in the door.
Frame & Panel Pre-Sort
Plywood frames, finished face panels, and trim were pre-numbered offsite and staged in load-in order, so the crew was assembling pre-marked components on the ballroom floor rather than sorting hardware against the clock.
Build, Face & Finish On-Site
Wall framing, raised platforms, and built-in display carpentry were assembled in sequence, then faced with finished panels and dressed with trim — every joint, seam, and finish pass handled inside the ballroom itself across the 200-hour install window.
Final Walkthrough & Venue Handback
Final walkthrough with the Paul Mitchell team covered finished-wall alignment, trim seams, lighting interaction with the ballroom's existing fixtures, and floor cleanliness — so the room handed over brand-ready and the hotel's finishes handed back untouched.
Results
The ballroom handed over on schedule with finished walls aligned, platforms and built-in display carpentry in place, and the Paul Mitchell brand environment fully dressed and ready for show open. The 200-hour install closed out inside the agreed ballroom window, the hotel’s existing finishes were returned to the venue without damage, and the full build and dismantle ran without a single safety or compliance incident.
Booth Highlights
A few frames from inside the ballroom — frame-up, finished-panel raise, and finish detail through the Paul Mitchell build.
Ballroom-Built Wall System
Plywood-frame walls assembled and faced inside the ballroom itself, sized and finished to read as one continuous, brand-finished room — not a kit of trade-show panels dropped into a hotel.
Custom Display Carpentry
On-site-built shelving, riser platforms, and finished trim work, carpentered to the ballroom's dimensions instead of pulled from a standard inventory — keeping every product surface and display moment Paul Mitchell-specific.
Hospitality-Venue Protocol
Full carpet protection, corner guards, controlled load-in lanes, and noise-window sequencing so the ballroom's existing finishes — carpet, paneling, sconces, fixtures — handed back to the hotel untouched.
