Visionary installations for tomorrow’s floors: Domotex

Preparations for DOMOTEX 2019 (11-14 January, Hannover, Germany), the world’s leading fair for the flooring industry, are in full swing. As part of the build-up, an expert jury has now assessed a multitude of submissions and selected the most creative projects to feature at the Framing Trends showcase. Staged in Hall 9, Framing Trends is a major DOMOTEX highlight that gives its exhibitors and their ideas added exposure.

It comprises three showcase zones, each with its own distinct perspective on the DOMOTEX 2019 keynote theme, CREATE’N‘CONNECT which focuses on the “network” trend as an important aspect of flooring as unifying, connecting elements of room design. The Flooring Spaces zone is where exhibitors and other providers from the flooring industry can stage their creative interpretations of the keynote theme, connect with visitors and position themselves as trendsetters. The NuThinkers zone is an opportunity for students to present their innovative projects and concepts inspired by the connectivity megatrend. And the Art & Interaction zone explores the keynote theme in a sensory feast of installations from the worlds of art and design.

Only a limited number of Flooring Spaces are available, hence the need for an expert jury to decide which of the submitting companies will get to showcase their ideas and designs inspired by CREATE’N’CONNECT. The jury was once again headed by internationally renowned architect Peter Ippolito of Ippolito Fleitz Group who was joined by previous jury members Susanne Schmidhuber, founder and partner at Schmidhuber, and Dr. Susanne Kaufmann, research associate at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart art museum as well as one newcomer: Mr. Thomas Hundt, co- founder of the creative agency “jangled nerves” and Professor of Media + Space at the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences.

The Flooring Space project submitted by the Indian carpet manufacturer M.A. Trading is called “Rain of Stories”. As an intercultural team, M.A. Trading works in a very connected way, and sees design not just as an individual creative act but also as a shared endeavour and a crossroads of multiple areas of expertise. “Rain of Stories” narrates the creation stories of various products both metaphorically and personally, and builds real connections between people by having the creators of the various products present. In keeping with the rain idea, there are umbrellas, symbolizing special spaces for creativity and dialogue, beneath which visitors are invited to discuss materials, products and ideas and thereby jointly create something new.

This year, Schmidhuber has once again been selected for participation in the Flooring Spaces showcase with a project inspired by DOMOTEX’s lead theme. Dubbed the “Connectivity Wheel”, the project has both visual and interactive appeal. Visitors will be able to climb into the wheel and set it in motion by walking, thereby transforming their physical movement into an act of creation in which the light reflected from numerous coloured glass facets interacts with surrounding floor coverings by Carpet Concept. In this way, the wheel combines light and material to provide a unique sensory experience for visitors.

One of the selected artistic perspectives on connectivity are the creations by Vanessa Barragão, of Portugal. At her design studio, Barragão uses artisanal techniques to craft carpets and tapestries from textile industry waste products. Having grown up by the seaside, she has a strong sense of connection to the sea that inspires her work. Using techniques such as crochet, macramé and knitting, she recreates three-dimensional coral reefs from recycled materials. Barragão lives in Porto – the heart of Portugal’s textile industry – and is therefore painfully aware of the damage the industry does to the environment, especially to the world’s oceans, which absorb 90 percent of the world’s air pollution and are therefore warming up, she explains. Part of her aim with her work is to encourage us to re-think the way we treat the environment while at the same time “raising awareness among viewers of the dangers associated with coral reef die-off.”

Among the forward-looking concepts selected for the NuThinkers section of Framing Trends is a project called “A Match!” Developed by Sarah Busching of Wismar University of Applied Sciences (HS Wismar), the project explores the technological aspect of the connectivity megatrend. It involves two swings set up side by side but separated by a partition, on which two people try to swing in unison. The swings are on a wooden platform, and their cables are attached to metal rods that are equipped with potentiometers to measure rotational resistance. This set-up measures the swing motion of each person, which can then be displayed as waveform graphics on a monitor. The key point is that the participants can only see each other’s video image if they are swinging in unison, hence the name, “A Match!” If they achieve a match, the two people get to meet each other. They can then use an app to email their personalized wave graphics and snapshots along with quotes from social media. The app was designed by students from the Communication Design department of Wismar University of Applied Sciences. In this way, the people on the swings are able to connect with the outside world and share their experiences.

These exemplary projects from the three Framing Trends showcases illustrate the importance of connectivity in the flooring industry – both as a motor for great design and for innovative cooperations and presentations. The floor is a design element: It inspires us, provides us with orientation – and connects us. This is especially true for the flooring industry since the floor literally forms the foundation for all the rest. All selected projects and creative presentations on the keynote theme can be experienced at Hall 9 at DOMOTEX 2019 (11–14 January).