This page records LOPO’s announced participation in the Dubai Big 5 exhibition in November 2014. The booth invitation has long expired, but the archive can still help today’s project teams prepare a useful supplier discussion: identify the application, compare actual product families and request evidence for the proposed wall.
What the 2014 notice documents
The invitation shows how LOPO introduced several architectural clay formats to visitors at one event. It also included old staff details, telephone numbers, an invitation PDF reference and promotional descriptions of the fair and company. None should be used to plan a present visit or qualify a supplier today. The retained images preserve the page’s original sequence and context.
Prepare an application-led product enquiry
Begin with the project location, building use and height, facade areas, substrate and programme. Add elevations that show panel modules, orientation, openings, corners, soffits and transitions. State the intended wall build-up and identify who designs the clips, rails, brackets, anchors, membranes, insulation, cavity barriers and flashings.
For a rainscreen panel, request the current section, dimensions, mass, tolerances, fixing interface, finish route and special-piece options. For a sunscreen element, add profile, span, support points, angle and spacing. Current drawings should replace assumptions formed from a small exhibition photograph.
Ask for evidence, not exhibition claims
Turn each project requirement into a submittal item. Depending on the jurisdiction and assembly, the design team may require dimensional data, structural calculations, material reports, fire evidence, water testing, thermal information and durability-related results. Define the applicable methods and acceptance criteria in current project documents.
Check that every report identifies the relevant product, dimensions, finish, support and test date. A panel result does not automatically cover the complete wall. Compare supplier responses using the same evidence matrix and record gaps, exclusions and proposed alternatives. The supplier due-diligence guide offers a useful starting structure.
Review finish and special pieces at full scale
Use representative fired samples to agree colour, texture, gloss and acceptable variation. Move from chips to full units and then a multi-unit mock-up with real joints, corners and adjacent materials. Retain labelled control samples. A fair display can inspire a direction, but it cannot approve a production range for another project.
Special or carved units need their own codes, drawings, orientation, tolerances and fixing details. Confirm whether a proposed piece is standard, cut from a stock profile or requires current tooling and trials. Resolve access, replacement and water-shedding at reliefs before the design is released.
Compare system scope and responsibilities
Ask who supplies and engineers each component, who checks the substrate, and who coordinates movement, drainage, ventilation, fire barriers and openings. Identify required calculations, tests, shop drawings, mock-ups, installation method statements and inspections. Review the terracotta rainscreen and terracotta baguette families for orientation, then confirm the exact present proposal.
Commercial comparisons should separate products, supports, engineering, testing, samples, packing, freight, site handling, installation, access and spares. Record currency date, quotation validity, assumptions and exclusions. An old exhibition statement cannot verify current capacity, lead time, price or regional availability.
Plan samples, logistics and installation
Agree sample stages, mock-up dates, design freeze and approval ownership. Confirm quantities, batch strategy, crate dimensions, delivery sequence, lifting limitations, protected storage and inspection points. The installation plan should cover survey, setting out, brackets and rails, cavity components, unit retention, interfaces, cleaning and records.
Use the installation workflow as a discussion aid, subject to project engineering. At handover, collect approved drawings, product codes, batch records, evidence, inspections, cleaning guidance and labelled spares so the final wall can be maintained without relying on a decade-old fair invitation.
Make the next supplier meeting decision-ready
Send a short agenda and project brief before meeting: application, location, elevations, modules, finish, system concept, design criteria, evidence needs, quantity and programme. Request current samples and a written follow-up that logs assumptions, actions and owners. Explore relevant work in the project gallery as context rather than proof of suitability.
During the discussion, distinguish confirmed standard products from options that need technical development. Ask which drawing revision, sample code and evidence set will accompany the quotation. If an answer depends on another system designer, installer or laboratory, record that interface instead of treating it as included.
Afterwards, update the product schedule and decision register. Attach sample photographs, but retain physical controls where appearance matters. Close unanswered questions before tender comparison or order release, and route any later substitution through the same architectural, engineering and commercial reviewers.