The ALBA Group showroom demonstrates how recycling and recycling technologies contribute to the sustainability of our cities, industries and societies. It is open for clients, employees and visitors.
Germany’s first recycling showroom
Raw material recycling as multi-media experience
About the showroom
At the centre of the showroom are app-driven, multimedia installations that explain the recycling of raw materials from waste in a informative and involving way, based on the example of the ALBA Group. The technical infrastructure is unique for a showroom in the industry, with a 180-inch video wall, a gallery with touch applications and information boards, and vertical ceiling projection on special glass.
As well as the digital media, the ALBA Group showroom also has an analogue material and resources table depicting the waste recycling loop for a hands-on experience of recyclables and materials from all waste fractions.
Further information
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. Free admission.
Address: Knesebeckstrasse 56-58, 10719 Berlin (Uhlandstrasse and Kurfürstendamm U-Bahn stations)
Information: Documentation (pdf)
Recognition for outstanding communication design
Inna Tereschenko, Senior Marketing Manager at ALBA Group
In the prestigious German Design Awards 2016, an international jury of design experts from science, business and the design industry selected the Recycling Showroom for a “special mention” for outstanding communication design in retail architecture.
Recycling-Showroom
“The Showroom gives a vivid and lively demonstration of how recycling contributes to the future viability of our cities, industries and society.”
Dr. Axel Schweitzer, CEO of ALBA Group plc & Co. KG
The idea
What happens to produced by our modern industrial society? How is it turned into new materials and products? Bringing all this to life in a hands-on experience is the aim of Germany’s first showroom for the world of recycling. The Showroom is a multimedia space located in the headquarters of the ALBA recycling group near Kurfürstendamm in the heart of Berlin. The centrepiece is an 181-inch video wall that takes visitors on a sight-and-sound journey into the world of recycling and reprocessing technology.
The showroom
The entire facility is state-of-the-art and interactive. All videos and animations are controlled over an integrated Crestron DigitalMediaTM system with a specially developed app. At night, the glass top of the material table ‘freezes’ and a vertical projection turns it into a sorting belt in a virtual recycling plant.
The material table
As well as the digital media, the ALBA Group Showroom also features an analogue material and resources table depicting the waste recycling loop for a hands-on experience of recyclables and materials from all waste fractions. The table uses special ‘smart’ glass that goes clear or opaque according to the application.
The gallery wall
The whole world of the ALBA Group on a single gallery wall, with facts and figures on the international environmental services and raw materials provider. Using touch screens, visitors can freely select videos for viewing – in German, English or Chinese.
The video wall
This is the eye-catcher in the ALBA Group Showroom: the large, versatile, floor-to-ceiling video wall. Behind all the high-resolution imagery and 3D animations is a host of complex technology. The impressive 4.57-metre presentation screen is ideal for conferences and meetings.
Night mode
In the dark, a vertical ceiling projection of a conveyor belt on special ‘smart’ glass that turns opaque at night gives onlookers the impression of standing at the beginning of a sorting belt.
The Showroom app and media control
A specially developed and designed app serves as the interface between the real and the virtual showroom world. Intuitive features allow the various exhibition components to be controlled and modified, including the video wall, screens, table, lighting and sound.
The entire media and hardware systems, including the light scenes, are controlled easily and intuitively using an iPad or iPad Mini.
The fan shop
As a further highlight for visitors, the official fan shop of the top-league ALBA BERLIN basketball team is located directly opposite the Showroom. ALBA has sponsored the team since 1991. Three eye-catching digital signage displays provide information about games, events and merchandise – including ALBA Group articles. Out of opening hours, an entertaining animation featuring the team’s albatross mascot extends across all three screens. A highlight is the high-tech iPad and iPod-based till system.