DOMOTEX 2018 to open with an array of new highlights and features
- New hall configuration and venue layout
- Keynote theme “UNIQUE YOUNIVERSE” brought to life in amazing immersive display zones by exhibitors, artists and emerging designers
- New Friday-to-Monday run of the show
Starting in 2018, DOMOTEX is moving from its traditional Saturday-to-Tuesday format to a new Friday-to-Monday format. This means DOMOTEX 2018 will open on Friday 12 January and remain open until Monday 15 January. The change comes in response to calls from many exhibitors to switch the official DOMOTEX opening day to Friday.
The enhanced DOMOTEX format has been well received by the carpet and floor coverings industry – as can be seen from the high level of exhibitor registrations. “We are well up on the number of exhibitors confirmed at the same time in the build-up to DOMOTEX 2017. We’re also significantly above expectation on booked display space,” Gruchow said. “This further underscores DOMOTEX’s importance as a global marketplace and setter of trends for the carpet and floor coverings industry. At this rate, we are on track for around 1,400 exhibitors from over 60 nations,” he added. Apart from Germany, the show’s biggest exhibiting nations in terms of display space are Turkey, India, Belgium, China, the Netherlands, Iran, Italy, Egypt and the USA.
The revamped hall configuration physically clusters allied product groups, making it much easier for visitors from all professional backgrounds – whether wholesale or retail, architecture, interior design, the skilled trades, or furniture or furnishing retail – to find their way around and survey the market. Getting down to specifics, halls 2 to 4 now house the biggest offering of hand-made carpets and rugs seen anywhere in the world. Halls 5 through 7 are home to a unique selection of machine-woven carpets and rugs. Hall 8 is the gateway to the latest carpet creations from the world’s most innovative designers and labels. The displays of resilient floor coverings and luxury vinyl tiles are concentrated in halls 11 and 12. And halls 12 and 13 house the show’s displays of parquet, wood and laminate flooring. Hall 13 also houses displays of the latest flooring application and installation products and solutions. The convenience factor will be further enhanced by the venue’s excellent integration into the local public transport system and by the new MY DOMOTEX shuttle service, which will transport visitors and exhibitors quickly and directly to wherever they want to go on the exhibition grounds.
With its keynote theme of “UNIQUE YOUNIVERSE”, DOMOTEX 2018 is focusing on the individualization megatrend and its effects on the flooring industry. In today’s globalized and digitized world, consumers are increasingly looking for ways to express their individuality. Consequently, the products and services they use to shape their lives – including their home lives – are becoming more and personalized and tailored to their needs and preferences. “DOMOTEX is picking up on this trend, because if other products can be tailored to lifestyle preferences, then the same should also be true of floor coverings,” explained Gruchow.
Hall 9 is the new jewel in the crown of DOMOTEX. It is the home of the “Framing Trends” display area, a richly diverse and immersive showcase in which established companies, industry newcomers and artists will engage with the keynote theme in an array of creatively staged displays. “Framing Trends” comprises four distinct zones, where visitors will be able to experience and interact with all kinds of out-of-the-box ideas and designs. In the “Flooring Spaces” zone, companies from the floor coverings industry will stage extraordinary product showcases that play with and reflect on the individualization trend. Next-door, exhibitors will partner with interior designers to craft inspiring spaces and lifestyle realms in the “Living Spaces” zone. Then there’s the “NuThinkers” zone, where students and young designers will redefine interior design with a dazzling array of unconventional ideas and product prototypes. And finally, the “Art & Interaction” zone will present the keynote theme of “UNIQUE UNIVERSE” in a sensory feast of exhibits from the worlds of art and design, paired with interactive multimedia displays. To ensure that “Framing Trends” delivers a consistently high-quality visitor experience, the organizers have appointed a panel of experts under the leadership of Peter Ippolito, of Büro Ippolito Fleitz Group (Stuttgart, Germany), who will determine which of the ideas and designs submitted are worthy of going on display.
To add to the inspiration on offer, the upcoming show will feature a captivating program of speaking events – the DOMOTEX Talks – inspired by the “UNIQUE YOUNIVERSE” keynote theme. Among those to speak are renowned architects such as Jürgen Mayer H. (J.MAYER.H und Partner, Architekten MbB, Berlin), Andreas Krawczyk (NKBAK, Frankfurt/Main), Chris Middleton (KINZO, Berlin), Werner Aisslinger (Studio Aisslinger, Berlin) and a number of founders of amazing startups and trailblazing next-generation designers. Held on the “Framing Trends” stage in Hall 9, each day’s Talks will comprise three speed presentations followed by a moderated discussion panel. The Talks will explore a range of highly topical and innovative projects and ideas from architecture and design. They will be grouped into three main theme areas: “Modular design: individual versus mass-produced?”, “New one-off originals: handmade versus digital?” and “Retail interactive: virtual versus real?” The Talks are aimed primarily at architects, interior and product designers, but are also of interest to forward-thinking exhibitors and visitors. There will also be daily Guided Tours of the show, led by big-name architects and designers. For visitors, the tours are a great way to gain deeper insights into the keynote theme and the products on display and, of course, to make contact with key exhibitors. In the center of the “Framing Trends” area, visitors and exhibitors will find lounge-style meeting areas and a café – the ideal settings for relaxed, informal dialogue.
Domotex
Deutsche Messe