ArchitekTOUR

More than 1,000 architects attended seven events in seven different cities last summer, despite the often tropical temperatures. These events were organised as part of the 2015 ArchitekTOUR under the motto ‘Architecture for education, research and work in the age of globalisation and digitisation’. The number of participants at each event had occasionally to be limited to 150, while the decision to limit the number of exhibitors to 14 gave the events a certain air of exclusivity.

The orders of magnitude at the congress, which has been the final event of the ArchitekTOUR since 2012, are quite different. Heinze expects more than 1,000 architects to attend the one-and-a-half-day event, to be held at the Frankfurt Messegelände exhibition grounds on 25 and 26 November. Together with the more than 80 exhibitors, this will once again represent a highly efficient communication platform.

It all started in 2010. The first ArchitekTOUR took place during the football World Cup in South Africa, in three empty VIP lounges of German football stadiums. There was great interest in these impressive sports facilities: it was the first time that many architects had set foot in such temples of popular sport. The ArchitekTOUR was given a new motto in each subsequent year.

Heinze was well aware of the costs of preparation and implementation of these events before it embarked on this project, and it had discussed the risk that interest in this new approach might be disappointing. ‘Mind you, we did have a firm basis of 50 years’ experience in the world of marketing, and 30 years of continuous successful links with architects to build these considerations on,’ recalls Christian Stallknecht, ArchitekTOUR project leader at Heinze. He mentions the various demand-based print and online resources available in-house in this connection. ‘Apart from our various research tools that facilitate communication between architects and builders, it seemed to us that there was an obvious need to bring the two parties even closer together so that they could really get to know one another on a personal basis. Organising a series of events seemed to be the most effective way of achieving this aim.’ The resources available in-house provided the basis for a clearly more effective approach, which would fill the niche between huge international trade fairs on the one hand and equally universally oriented congresses on the other.

‘Our firm intention was to make the ArchitekTOUR something really special. We wanted to add a livelier element to purely lecture-based events, such as those already offered by the professional associations, while on the other hand we believed that trade fairs do not educate visitors enough as lectures do. Our format was quite innovative at the time,’ explains Stallknecht. It is based on a smart concept that enables participants to make the best possible use of their time by keeping the balance between exhibitions and lectures subject to lively variation.

The current package of events, tailor-made to appeal to the relevant target groups, was developed through a series of countless working sessions. The objective right from the start was to appeal to a very wide target group, from individual pioneers working in a rural setting to team leaders of renowned architecture studios in the big city. Another target we had in mind right from the word go was to attract roughly 1,000 participants to each tour. The exhibitors also aimed to reach as large an audience as possible, devoting as much attention to small consultancy bureaus as to large ones.

‘It follows that our own aims are completely in line with those of the exhibitors. Experience has shown that both exhibitors and visitors are in an excellent mood at the end of the two-day congress,’ stresses Christian Stallknecht. Heinze’s role during the tour is mainly to promote networking, and to ensure that everything runs smoothly in each event.

Both the tour and the congress are basically aimed at helping participants to keep up to date with the latest developments in the field in an attractive format compressed into a relatively short space of time through company presentations, providing the opportunity for personal contact with the leading thinkers in the field, keeping one’s fingers on the pulse of modern architecture, getting to know the latest trends and last but not least meeting colleagues and exchanging news and views.

When round about 1,000 architects and 200 representatives of industry get together, there is ample room for wide-ranging, fruitful discussion.

This year’s motto of architecture in the age of education and research leads to consideration of construction projects involving universities, schools, laboratories libraries, etc, and of the whole range of new technologies currently available. ‘We show what manufacturers have to offer, and what inventive use architects make of these offerings in their construction projects. This is the main added value of the ArchitekTOUR for participants,’ says Stallknecht in summary. To ensure effective communication, exhibitors focus on the innovations they have introduced. Each one is allowed to present, explain and demonstrate no more than two products or concepts that are in line with the theme of the congress and of interest to architects.

Both exhibitors and architects like the annual change of motto. The feedback on this point is more than encouraging. There is a constant flow of suggestions for future themes, and this process also reveals the themes of greatest topicality. When selecting themes that reflect trends of current interest as seen through the eyes of the architect, Heinze strives to maintain a balanced vision. The right theme is one of relevance to the industry as a whole, but not one that tries to take absolutely every aspect slavishly into account.

Heinze attaches equal importance to the site chosen for the congress. The right location motivates exhibitors and sparks interest and curiosity in visitors. Seen from this point of view, the venue chosen for this year’s events may seem somewhat surprising since Hall 1 of the Frankfurt exhibition grounds is not the most exciting space imaginable. It was only the scale of the planned events that led to the decision to house the ArchitekTOUR in this very large building, which has the added advantage of offering all the necessary infrastructure and facilities. Heinze plans, however, to transform this rather chilly space into a hive of knowledge-based activity. All those involved in the various presentations, and the spectators, thus have a lot to look forward to in this respect, too.