Current Issue

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

CONTRACTWORLD
Deutsche Messe Hannover
Hannover, Germany
January 16 – 19, 2010

The first prizes in the 2010 contractworld.award went to entrants from Spain, Austria, Japan and Germany. This coveted international architecture award was presented to the winners at the official prize-giving ceremony in Hannover.

Numerous top architectural and interior design offices had competed for Europe's most important and lucrative award for innovative interior design concepts, now worth a total of EUR 60,000 (US$ 84,774) in prize money. More than half of the 623 projects submitted - 356 to be precise - came from offices outside Germany.

As in previous years, the Contractworld.Congress was held. Altogether, 36 speakers were featured. Thematic topics for 2010 were:

• Office / Administration: Build on the office
• Hotel / Spa / Gastronomy: The enlightened guest
• Shop / Showroom / Trade Fair Stand: Internal worlds
• Education / Healthcare: Quality Matters Contractworld comprises three main elements:
• Contractworld.congress: Lectures and forums on the keynote categories Office, Hotel, Shop und Education/Training/Healthcare
• Contractworld.award: International architectural award for innovative interior design concepts
• Contractworld.exhibition: Manufacturers present innovative floor coverings and other products for the contracting business

NEW PAVILION FOR OFFICE FURNITURE

China Internatational Furniture Fair
China Import and Export Fair Complex
Guangdong, China
March 27 – 30, 2010

Asia’s prestigious fair of office furnishings and facilities, is the largest exhibition for the design, layout, planning & management of the workspace in Asia. CIFF-Office Show features the latest trends, products and concepts in office with the display of office furnishing, lighting, flooring and acoustics.

Covering an area of 640,000 sq m, the floor plan this year will be divided into areas for a multipurpose stage; the evolution of the office environment; a reception counter; elite collections; environmentally friendly concepts; the latest colour swatches and trends; information platforms; and conferences, amongst others. There will altogether be 12 different sections.

MOVED TO 2011

SaloneUfficio
New Milan Fairgrounds
Milan, Italy
April 12 – 17, 2011

SaloneUfficio, the International Biennial Workspace Exhibition, has been moved to 2011. COSMIT’s Board of Directors reached this decision in the wake of a survey carried out among its exhibitors at the request of the companies themselves. The decision is attributed to the volatile economic climate and also 2011 is the year where no other sectorial trade fairs have been scheduled at an international level.

“As a company, COSMIT operates under the aegis of the trade association FederlegnoArredo, and its mission first and foremost is to do its best for the companies under its umbrella,” explains Carlo Guglielmi, COSMIT’s President. “We thought it expedient to keep our ear to the ground vis à vis our exhibitors’ requirements and to put together a specific project bringing SaloneUfficio in line with Euroluce. Given the great affinity between the world of the workplace and the world of lighting, our decision to hold

the International Biennial Workspace Exhibition and the International Lighting Exhibition in tandem means that the overall range will be even broader, especially as regards the planning and contract worlds.”

RESOUNDING SUCCESS!

OFFICE FURNITURE JAPAN
Tokyo Big Sight
Tokyo, Japan
July 7 – 9, 2010

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, International Stationery and Office Products Fair Tokyo (ISOT) – along with Novelty & Premium Goods Expo 2009; 7th International Office Machines & Equipment Expo Tokyo (OFMEX); International Office Furniture Expo (Office Furniture Japan); and 4th Office Security Expo Tokyo (OSEC) – was held from July 8 – 10, 2009 at Tokyo Big Sight, Japan. Organised by Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd., the fairs closed with a great success.

Last year, 1,291 exhibitors from 29 countries and regions showcased their latest products to 75,697 industry professionals who visited the fairs (numbers including the concurrent fairs). Show Management has invited 119 industry professionals from China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan.

Office Furniture Japan was the first ever trade fair in Japan dedicated solely to office furniture and furnishings. Office Furniture Japan launched with a huge anticipation from both the visitors and the exhibitors. Overseas companies also see the big potential in Japanese office market and participated firstly launched Office Furniture Japan. They saw 81 exhibitors in action.

Most of the exhibitors have signed up to participate again in 2010, as well as numbers of new companies. As a result, exhibit space for next Novelty & Premium Goods Expo, OFMEX and Office Furniture Japan is limited.

Many Japanese manufacturers as well as mass merchandisers outsource their production by making OEM agreements with international manufacturers. Exhibitors have great business opportunities to deal with these manufacturers directly. Japanese agents, distributors and architects/designers will also form a big part of the visitorship.

TURNS 25

IIDEX/NEOCON CANADA
Light Canada Expo and Conference
Toronto, Canada
September 23 – 25, 2010

When the curtains rose on its first day on September 24 last year, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada celebrated its 25th anniversary by showcasing the latest products, hottest speakers and coolest awards ceremonies. With 15,743 registered attendees for last year’s event, IIDEX maintained strong attendance from its core ARIDO members, plus many new attendees from the addition the Green Building Festival to IIDEX.

Apart from that, it had over 1,000 products on display from 375 exhibitors, 120 CEU accredited seminars, 52 Innovation Award winners, 32 ARIDO Awards winners and not forgetting, a sold out ARIDO Awards of Excellence Gala. The show also hosted 100 new exhibitors who were offering a slew of new products and services.

Continuing in its green tradition, the show also launched the Green Building Festival. The addition of Green Building Festival and World Green Building Council Leader’s Summit were a great success bringing the best and brightest minds together to share the latest information from the fields of sustainable design, architecture and urban planning with Toronto’s leading design and building professionals.

One of the show’s special higlights, Material World, showcases the latest new and sustainable materials from emerging Toronto, Canadian and international companies drawn from a wide range of non-traditional suppliers, regions and specialties. Starting 2009, Material World features a special interactive exhibit Think:Material, curated by international materials consultant, Jim Salazar and an industry committee.

THINK:Material is based on contextual need where the architect/designer is presented with an extensive array of options ranging from high-performance to intelligent applications that will stimulate the creative process and play an integral role on the impact of finished projects. Touch, feel, learn and excite the creative senses at this exhibit.

The THINK:Material exhibit will anchor the very popular Material World Pavilion at IIDEX/NeoCon Canada. This dedicated area will showcase product innovation and cutting-edge materials including glass, metals, natural fibres, ceramic, coatings, textiles and polymers.

Last year also saw the debut of Design Green: Toronto which is an exhibit of Toronto based SME's that will showcase sustainable designed building components, materials, technologies and service providers for specification by interior designers, architects, facility managers and developers.

Strong Showing

Office Furniture China
Shanghai New International Expo Centre
Shanghai, China
September 7 – 9, 2010

In the previous edition, Office Furniture China (OFC) saw 46,000 visitors, of which 15,000 were from overseas – an increase of nine percent. About 42 percent of them came from Asia, 26 percent from Europe, 14 percent from North America, 10 percent from Australasia, four percent from Central and South America, three percent from Africa and another percent from the rest of the world. More than 360 exhibitors covered a total show area of 30,000 sq m, up 25 percent from the previous year.

Participants were treated to an insightful seminar on how to mitigate the financial crisis and exploit the opportunities that come with it.

Come 2010, organisers say much focus will be placed on environmentally friendly and innovative furniture that can last longer in terms of durability and style. This year will also mark OFC’s last showing at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. The fair will move to its permanent showground.

GOING STRONG

Office Furniture China
Shanghai New International Expo Centre
Shanghai, China
September 7 – 9, 2010

Despite the gloomy global economic condition, the 7th annual NeoCon East drew 7,331 attendees and 271 exhibitors to Baltimore, last October. Up to 60 percent of the exhibitors were involved with the GSA (US General Services Administration) and it made history when show organisers proclaimed that it is the largest concentration of products and services for commercial interiors on the GSA schedule in the Northeast.

This goes to show Government business is still very much in demand and cemented NeoCon East’s image as the premier show for the federal design community. To further reflects its strength in GSA, there were federal government procurement specifiers, along with a GSA Integrated Workplace Acquisition Center to assist attendees.

Organisers say that the government spent almost US$1.6 billion from October 2008–July 2009 on furniture and furnishings. This far exceeds the total spent in the entire 2008 fiscal cycle alone. Stimulus money has already been allocated toward many government agencies that are responsible for specifying and overseeing money spent on multi-million dollar projects such as BRAC and other shovel-ready projects.

Additionally, NeoCon East offered 53 CEU-accredited programmes and the show also included free 60-minute seminars and free GSA-sponsored seminars to government employees and students.

DESIGN ORIENTED

INDEX TRADE FAIRS
Bandra - Kurla Complex
Mumbai, India
October 8 – 11, 2010

India’s number one platform for the furniture and interior industry, Index Trade Fairs, Mumbai, 2009, witnessed 31,098 visitors from all over the country, over a span of five days from September 18 – 22, 2009 at Bandra - Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Covering an area of 40,000 sq m with 236 participants representing over 700 Indian and international brands, the fair registered an enormous 21.5 percent increase over Index Mumbai, 2008 figures of 25,591 visitors.

Known for its strong design focus, Index Fairs’ unique initiative, Index Design Boulevard (IDB), is dedicated exclusively to innovation and creativity offered a select group of architects an opportunity to display their design concepts. Architectural firm Sankalpan Architects Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai in association with Merino Industries Ltd, Kolkata crafted a concept Office Space and the initiative also showcased works of two design institutes IDC- IIT and St. Francis Institute of Art & Design, Mumbai.

A key feature of this five-day event was the opportunity to see products from other parts of the world, such as Spain, Italy, Germany, Malaysia and China. Additionally, the first IFJ Seminar was held with an elite panel of speakers at this seminar including architects from India and abroad. The theme of the seminar was ‘Green – Imperatives of Sustainability’.

EARLY BIRD PROGRAMME PAYS OFF

Orgatec
Koelnmesse
Cologne, Germany
October 26 – 30, 2010

Orgatec 2010’s early-booker discount has paid off as a marketing and promotion programme. Nearly all the leading producers have registered with organiser Koelnmesse to ensure they get an appropriate stand area at the leading international trade fair for offices and facilities.

The companies that have already handed in their concrete stand wishes or have officially registered for Orgatec 2010 include ASSMANN, Bene, Bisley Office Furniture, Brühl & Sippold, Brunner, C+P, Casala, Dauphin Human Design Group, DOBERGO, Fabromont, Filzfabrik Fulda, Fritz Schäfer, Herman Miller, Holzmedia, HOWE, Hund, Interface, Interstuhl, Kindermann, Köhl, König und Neurath, Kusch + Co., Mauser, Montana, OKA-Büromöbel, ophelis Pfalzmöbel, PALMBERG, REHAU, ROHDE & GRAHL, SATO Office, Sedus Stoll, Senator International, spiegels collection, Stoll Giroflex, Viasit, Vielhauer, Vitra, Waldmann, Walter Knoll, Wilhelm Renz, Wilkhahn and WINI. Among the renowned companies that are returning to the fair and have already reserved their exhibition area is Haworth.

Due to the rescheduling of European trade fairs for the office sector, Koelnmesse has received several enquiries - especially from Italy and Spain. In general, manufacturers from all segments - furnishings, lighting, flooring, acoustics and media technology - are currently coordinating their concrete stand area requests with the Orgatec team.

Orgatec will continue to develop the concept of a theme-oriented trade fair, which will present modern solutions for offices and facilities. The topics of acoustics, flooring and lighting as well as media and conference technology will be emphasised more strongly.