A plastic free booth for the UK's busiest ferry port, built with local suppliers in Miami. Over four days three local artists painted a mural telling the port's sustainability journey, and it now hangs in a Port of Dover terminal.
Port of Dover · Seatrade · Miami, USA · 2022 · Travel, transport, and hospitality · Design; Production; Project Management
The Port of Dover is the busiest international roll-on roll-off ferry port in the UK and the country's second busiest cruise port, welcoming over 25 cruise lines and 200,000 guests a year. It went to Seatrade to highlight its commitments to sustainability, and asked Pie Factory to design and manage a booth that would stand up to that claim. A cruise port talking about sustainability at a cruise industry show is asking to be tested, so the booth had to be defensible on its own construction, and it had to mean something beyond the four days.
A zero waste, plastic free booth, produced with local suppliers in Miami and built around a collaboration rather than a structure. Over the course of the four day event a live mural was painted on the booth by three artists from Before It's Too Late, a Miami based non-profit arts organisation whose work is educating and inspiring people to build a more sustainable world. The mural told the port's evolving sustainability journey and grew across the show, which meant passing attendees had a reason to come back on day three.
The materials were chosen for what happens at the end. Signage was ReBoard, made from 100% recycled fibres and fully recyclable like ordinary paper. Structure was FSC plywood. Paint was Smog Armour, a non-toxic zero-VOC water based paint infused with enhanced mineral that attracts and neutralises harmful air pollutants, including airborne VOCs. Furniture was mostly hired. Giveaways were plastic free.
Then the booth was taken apart and given away. The purchased chairs were gifted to the Before It's Too Late artists. The art wall plywood was reused by the artists. The signage was recycled. And the artwork itself was transported back to the UK and put on display in a Port of Dover terminal, where it is seen by more people than passed the booth.
A live mural is a four day dependency with no fallback. The artwork is the booth's centrepiece and it does not exist on day one, which means the structure has to look finished while half empty, the paint has to be safe to apply in an occupied exhibition hall, and three artists have to be on site working while the client is holding meetings around them. The paint specification carried that: a zero-VOC water based product rather than a solvent based one, in a hall with recirculated air.
No total carbon figure was published for this project. What was measured and offset was Pie Factory's own international travel to attend, offset in full with validated carbon credits. The onsite waste management process was tracked by the in-house sustainability team.
What is recorded: zero waste to landfill or incineration, zero plastic used in the booth, plastic free giveaways, three local artists engaged across four days, chairs gifted to the artists, art wall plywood reused by them, signage recycled, and the mural rehomed to a Port of Dover terminal in the UK. Pie Factory's international travel 100% offset with validated carbon credits.
ReBoard signage, 100% recycled fibres, fully recyclable. FSC plywood. Smog Armour non-toxic zero-VOC water based paint. Hired furniture.
Before It's Too Late: artists, canvas and art wall. Priority Graphics: print. ReFactory: recycling. Freemans: furniture hire. PPG AV: AV. Edd Helms: electrical services. Dane Myers: videography, photography and time-lapse.
Measurement and reporting by Simon Evans, CEnv ISEP, Sustainability Director, with `[name]`. Design lead `[name]`. Project management `[name]`.