Textile trends and know-how for contract planners: HEIMTEXTIL 2019

Textiles have a particular significance when it comes to property planning, interior design and the hotel industry. High demands in relation to these are not just about the colour, design and texture of the material. At the world’s largest trade fair for home and contract textiles, Heimtextil (8 -11 January 2019), visitors from the contract sector will not only find a unique variety of textiles for various applications, but above all international expertise on their functional characteristics as well as application examples for innovative construction projects and individual planning. This offer is summarised under the title ‘Interior.Architecture.Hospitality’. Architects, interior designers and hospitality experts can inform themselves about the latest trends and solutions in first-rate lectures. Renowned industry experts will guide visitors through the trade fair from a user’s perspective. And a varied supporting programme offers the opportunity for discussion among colleagues and to garner inspiration.

The topics for the lecture programme were developed in close cooperation with the industry experts from AIT Dialog. Together with AIT and other industry partners such as the Allgemeine Hotel- und Gastronomie-Zeitung (AHGZ), the Bund deutscher Innenarchitekten (bdia), hotelforum management and worldarchitects.com, Heimtextil will once again be an outstanding meeting place for architects, interior designers, hospitality experts, designers and providers of innovative product solutions – with numerous lectures and discussions, guided tours and AIT trend scouting.

The ‘Interior.Architecture.Hospitality Lectures’ will take place in hall 4.2. In the lectures, internationally renowned experts will present their visionary architectural projects and concepts. Members of the Chamber of Architects and Town Planners of Hesse can accrue training points for participating in the lectures.

Tuesday, 8 January
The lectures on the first day of the fair will tackle various topics relating to temporary buildings and three-dimensional structures under the title ‘Space’. The definition of space and the basic principles of design will be explained by renowned designers and architects using impressive examples.

Fashion expert Silke Bücker, textile designer Felix Diener and design journalist Martina Metzner discuss colours and fabrics as space-constituting elements under the title ‘True Values’ in a trend seminar organised by the bdia (Bund deutscher Innenarchitekten). Participation in the one-day seminar is subject to a fee and advance registration at www.bdia.de is required.

Wednesday, 9 January
The second themed day of the lectures (9 January) will be entitled ‘Atmosphere’ and will examine the extent to which atmosphere has a positive effect on our well-being. The question of ‘Healing Architecture’ and its influence on health is gaining in relevance, particularly in the area of care spaces. The focus of this themed day will be on housing models for special situations in life, as well as hospitals, nursing homes, retirement homes and hospices.

Under the title ‘Printed Interior Decoration Lectures’, specialists will also provide information on the latest technologies and possibilities for using inkjet digital printing for individualising wall and floor coverings and decorative fabrics for contract furnishing according to your own creative designs.

The exciting conclusion of the lectures on Wednesday will be the AIT Trend award ceremony with the keynote lecture by Georg Thiersch from Büro 1zu33 in Munich on the subject of ‘Architecture and Material’ starting at 5 p.m. For the AIT Trend, around 30 architects and interior designers are looking for new generations of innovative products in the contract textiles, textile room divider or sun protection systems, wall coverings, wallpaper or furniture groups at Heimtextil. The most convincing products will be honoured with the AIT Trend 2019.

Thursday, 10 January
The third themed day deals with the question of ‘identity’. In times of an increasingly flexible society and nomadic living and working models, the need for individuality is becoming ever greater. Identity – whether in the sense of connection with the location or on a conceptual level – is an essential success factor for the hotel industry. The lectures on the Thursday of the trade fair will highlight visionary hotel concepts, trends such as micro-living and temporary living in the form of residential hotels, apartment hotels and serviced apartments.

Friday, 11 January
Heimtextil also offers special lectures for up-and-coming professionals. Students of architecture and interior design, in particular, are invited to attend the ‘Talent Lab Lectures’ on Friday, 11 January 2019 from 12.30 p.m. to enable them to gain an insight into the furnishing of commercial properties with textiles through lectures and a subsequent discussion panel in hall 4.2.

Visitors can explore the numerous Heimtextil highlights on their own or join one of the many guided tours aimed especially at interior designers, architects and hoteliers. The starting point for the guided tours is the counter for the Interior.Architecture.Hospitality Tours in hall 4.2 (with the exception of the AHGZ Trend Tour Housekeeping on Thursday).

Registering for the events
The Heimtextil event calendar and website www.heimtextil-contract.com provides the best overview of the comprehensive range of information and events on the subject of ‘Interior.Architecture.Hospitality’. Pre-registration is required for the tours. Spaces are limited.