Leading the way
Energy-saving campaign
04. 2019
Messe Frankfurt Staff Magazine
Table of contents 04 UPDATE Christmas Eve for everyone Flipping the switch 20,000 books and 42,000 photos Students at work The story of the new millennium: Growth!
10 COVER STORY Leading the way
04
No two days are alike – an interview with both Managing Directors of Accente Gastronomie Service GmbH, Holger Schuster and Johann Thoma
16 UPDATE Bratwurst and sushi
17 PEOPLE BUSINESS “Archivists are a proud breed!” Growing up with Messe Frankfurt
19 AFTER WORK Building a dream
05
20 SPOT ON Aicha Mendoughe, Project Manager for Finance Business Partnering (H 22)
PUBLICATION DATA agora Staff magazine of Messe Frankfurt Publisher Messe Frankfurt GmbH Corporate Communications Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1 60327 Frankfurt am Main Germany Phone: +49 (0) 69 75 75-59 05 Fax: +49 (0) 69 75 75-67 60 Responsible for content under German Press Law: Markus Quint Editors-in-Chief Nadine Philipp Dr. Andreas Wolf Editorial office Nadine Philipp Carolina Del Pozo Ralf Schirrmann Pete Smith Dr. Andreas Wolf Picture editor Antje Breuer-Seifi Copy editor Pete Smith Layout Messe Frankfurt Medien und Service GmbH, Silke Magersuppe Peter Sauer Design Edenspiekermann, Berlin Cover and graphics designheilige, Berlin Litho printers Peter Gerhardt, Dreieich Printing W. B. Druckerei GmbH, Hochheim am Main Photos Messe Frankfurt, except: p. 18: private p. 19: private
10
agora | 04. 2019
After Work
19
Building a dream A fort, a castle or simply a place to get away – tree houses are magical places for many children. Carina Whitaker, Operations Director at our subsidiary in Atlanta, has built her own tree house.
What gave you the idea to build a tree house? I’ve built something out of wood for my son Grayson for every birthday. I made him a wooden chest when he turned one, a sandbox for his second birthday, a race car bed for his third and, for his fourth birthday, a tree house. It’s going to be difficult to decide what to do next year. Children learn the value of things you make yourself at such a young age, and they are very proud of the projects on which they’ve been able to help. Why exactly did you decide on a tree house? We set up a zip line in our garden, but unfortunately the starting point was so high that we needed a platform just to reach it. That’s what gave me the idea of building a tree house. I searched for pictures on Pinterest, then I got a few pieces of wood and started building. I didn’t have a construction plan. Did you have to get a building permit? Yes, I had to submit the project to the neighbourhood association, and once I’d received their approval I had to file an application with the city. It all went quicker than I had expected, and I was able to start after just 14 days. How expensive was the tree house? I’m certain it would be possible to do it more cheaply, but it ended up costing me about 2,000 US dollars.
A satisfied Carina Whitaker in front of her tree house.
How long did it take you to build it? I had two months with which to work, because it had to be completed by his birthday. What is it that is so special about a tree house? It offers my children a great place to play, paint, find inspiration and develop their own ideas. What kind of tree is needed for a tree house? Seeing as we built our tree house around the tree, the characteristics of our tree did not really matter. I simply had to make sure that I cut away enough of the floor and roof to ensure that our tree still had room to grow. What sort of tools did you need, and how dangerous was the process? What things do you have to watch out for? You need various ladders, drills and clamps. Because I built most of the tree house myself, it was difficult to lift the walls into position and then secure them without any assistance. Still, practice allows you to rise to the challenge. When it came time to do the roof, my husband and father-in-law helped out. Raising and installing it was quite an undertaking, as the top of the roof is nearly six metres high.
Were your children able to help? Certainly! The children helped out by painting, drilling some holes and holding the boards. They are still quite little, but they were always eager to help. How comfortable and weatherproof is the tree house? I still need to do some work on the roof, as there are a few places where the rain comes in. Otherwise, though, it’s quite weatherproof. It has two slides, a chalkboard, steps and a climbing frame, as well as a table inside for playing games. Naturally it also has real windows and a light – battery-powered, of course. How long do you expect the tree house to last? I hope it lasts for 20 years! As long as you continue to maintain it, keep painting it and replace any wood that starts to rot, it should last until the kids are out of the house – after that, I can use it as a ‘she shed’! What have you got out of this project personally? For me, it was the challenge. I’m constantly building and redesigning things, but the tree house was really something special. I wanted to prove to myself that I could make my ideas a reality – no matter how big or complex they are.