The fair has scheduled an extensive programme of lectures, talks and round-table discussions to complement the exhibition itself. The ‘WDC2022 Forum’ will take a global look at design through presentations by leading industry professionals.
Valencia, 7th September 2022.- Everything is ready to go at Feria Hábitat València. The foremost fair for ‘Made in Spain’ interiors has once again put together an impressive programme of lectures to complement the offering on show from more than 600 international brands and manufacturers that will be exhibiting at Feria Valencia from 20th to 23rd September.
This year, the workshops, round tables, lectures and talks will all come under the umbrella of the ‘WDC2022 Forum’. Named in tribute to Valencia’s status this year as World Design Capital, the Forum takes place in a dedicated space on Feria Valencia’s Level 3 designed by celebrated Valencian interior designer Pepe Cosín.
The common theme running through the ‘WDC2022 Forum’ is the recognition of design as a valid current and future business strategy for all sectors that make up the interiors value chain, especially designers, retailers, specifiers, manufacturers, distributors etc. In what is a very special year for design, the Forum aims to highlight the importance of creativity and innovation as drivers of change in the industry, particularly by means of different digitalization strategies.
Daily schedule
The ‘WDC2022 Forum’ kicks off on Tuesday 20th with a presentation of the full programme of activities and what Valencia being World Design Capital is all about. This will be followed by a workshop that will analyse the keys to winning in the markets of the Middle East, led by international design and specification consultancies.
Well-known design researcher Marisa Santamaría will reveal the keys to her ‘Atlas of Spanish Design’, with the late-afternoon session concluding with distinguished designer Vicent Martínez presenting the dedicated exhibition of his work at the fair.
Wednesday’s programme features numerous activities and lectures, including a round-table discussion led by Andreu World on their recently published research into ‘Sitting well to work. Good design is good business’ and an international roundtable on new trends in ceramic and design, which will feature Ana Illueca, driver of the ‘Ceramic DNA’ initiative, amongst others.
Also on Wednesday, leading manufacturer Actiu will be chairing a discussion, within the Forum, on design, the contract sector, and the ability to communicate emotions. In the afternoon, the Forum’s major event will be a discussion between two top professionals from the world of interiors, Mariví Calvo (LZF Lamps) and architect Lola Rúa. This will be followed by a keenly anticipated lecture by Italian designer, architect and interior designer Mónica Armani, one of the hottest designers of the moment, who has recently embarked on a partnership with Gomarco.
Hábitat reaches its midway point on Thursday 22nd September with a fascinating session at the WDC2022 Forum, which will open with a presentation on the sustainability project being developed by Zumex and Lowpoly. Next up will be a presentation by researcher Pepa Casado on the results of a study by trends laboratory Future-A.
Women will be in the spotlight again in a session titled ‘Women in Office Design’, moderated by Soledat Berbegall of Actiu, which precedes a lecture delivered by renowned Chicago-based architect Juan Carlos Baumgartner. The new prospects for the industry to develop ‘beyond design’ will be addressed later in the afternoon in a session led by the ‘Innodesign’ group. Participants will include Mara Pardo, Miguel Lozano, Ramón Prous and Mar Vera. A look at home textiles and future trends will bring the penultimate day of the fair to a close.
On the last, and certainly no less interesting day, Hábitat’s WDC2022 Forum opens at 10am with the traditional presentation by the Observatory of Trends in Interiors (OTH). Given by member institutes Aidimme (wood and furniture technology), ITC (ceramic) and Aitex (textiles), the presentation will review the Observatory’s latest findings.
On Friday the focus will be on digitalization, with three lectures addressing digital strategy in the various sectors of the interiors industry. Subjects include Aidimme’s ODS digital platform and, in a lecture delivered by Alberto Torres of Portobello street, how to apply so-called ‘big data’ to the design industry.
The last item on the WDC2022 Forum agenda will be a talk by Rubén Manceras of Product Hackers, about how to address digital growth in the interiors industry and move from physical to digital sales channels.
Beyond the Forum
This year however, Hábitat coincides with the celebrations marking Valencia’s designation as World Design Capital and will be the common thread linking many other events. One notable event in this regard will be the opening of the exhibition titled ‘Vicent Martínez, a continuous present. Memory, recent events and the unprecedented’, which will review the prolific work of the man considered to be the father of modern Valencian design. The exhibition will be in the Lobby area on Level 3.
Also worth noting is that there will be a fresh edition of the young design talent show, Salón nude. This year, it too will be on Level 3 and will showcase almost twenty selected design studios and centres. Also, as is well known, nude is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year with a retrospective exhibition, that will be open at the Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània (CCCC) in Valencia until 16th October. The exhibition will be open to visitors during Hábitat week and is scheduled to feature a round-table discussion on Tuesday 20th, at the CCCC.
Not to be missed either are the International Interior Design Forum (FIDI) which takes place on 21st and 22nd in the Events Centre at Feria Valencia, as part of Hábitat, the afterwork event that takes place every day at 19.00 in the Àgora València right in the city centre, and the various activities being planned by the organisers of Valencia World Design Capital 2022 that will focus on the best of urban culture and design. The full programme of events can be viewed online at https://www.feriahabitatvalencia.com//fhav-activities-program-2022/
