From the Great Wall of China to the Berlin Wall, walls have been used to keep people out — or lock people in. Rarely have they been employed as an invitation rather than a barrier. But that's exactly what Inductotherm Group did for its exhibit at GIFA 2023: The Bright World of Metals. “We knew we wanted to incorporate metal in a new way — relying on traditional walls or 'fake fabric metal' would not work,” says Pete St. John, owner of St. John Design Group LLC, the exhibit house behind Inductotherm's stand. The goal was to be a showstopping representation of the brand's industry dominance. Relying heavily on the exhibit's 20-plus-foot height to attract attendees, the company enveloped the 89-by-50-foot booth in a curtain made of aluminum chains. Colored in gunmetal gray and weighing 2,725 pounds, the metal drape enticed visitors who could no more resist it than iron filings could resist a magnet. More than just a static attraction, though, the chains reflected the expo's ambient light the way a shimmering pool of water might the sun. They swayed languorously when showgoers dragged their fingers along the curtain as they strolled by, resulting in a sound like distant rain. A projection of the company name on the chains appeared to float on them as if by magic. The swaying, shimmering wall's transparency also allowed guests passing by to easily glimpse the booth's two main sections — the front with an archipelago of “islands” featuring 14 different products, and the back, housing a space to engage and socialize. The sections were joined by an immersive tunnel with custom-designed interactive videos and information, all created by St. John Design Group, about each of Inductotherm Group's 40 members on 85-inch touchscreens. “This is a keeper,” said judges, who recognized that some chains liberate much more than they restrict. E