When it came time to launch its latest line of aircraft at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE), Bombardier Aviation, a division of Bombardier Inc., hoped to offer attendees more than bone-dry statistics. "Instead of using only data," said Lisa Hill, head of 3-D design for 2 Heads Global Design Ltd., which conceived and fabricated the exhibit, "we looked at the worlds of art and luxury goods for inspiration." Indeed, attendees might well have assumed the exhibit was a massive art installation. On one side of the entrance stood an imposing cloud-white wall that measured 20- by-70 feet, its length almost equaling that of a 747-100's wing. On the threshold's opposite side was another wall with laminated wood strips in the brand's metallic-gold color, shining with the intensity of pirate treasure.

Even primed by the dramatic exterior, visitors could hardly have expected what awaited them inside the luxe 18,800-square-foot exhibit: an atrium over which hovered 150 LED spheres. Controlled by a computer, the orbs appeared to glide and drift before coalescing into the shape of an aircraft. Seeming to take off from an invisible runway, the stylized plane cruised through the air and eventually landed. "The space is marvelously well thought out," said one Exhibit Design Awards judge. "It feels upscale, which is very on brand for Bombardier."

For VIPs, the booth's upper deck functioned as a kind of private sky lounge, complete with a bar and dining area for 70. Designed as an exclusive experience, the space was lined with glass covered with a one-way film that allowed esteemed guests to relax while remaining unseen from the outside, as pampered as any first-class passenger. E