Nov 14, 2009

Ambiente 2010: the year’s most important award ceremonies, trend presentations and events

Along with its 4,300 or so international exhibitors, it is above all the numerous award ceremonies, trend presentations and events that make Ambiente what it is year after year: the major consumer-goods event of the first half of the year. Ambiente will be taking place from 12 to 16 February 2010, with the trends of tomorrow, the most interesting up-and-coming designers and the best ideas for the coming business year. Here are some of the highlights of Ambiente at a glance.

Award ceremonies: prize-winning product variety

Design Plus
Galleria 1
For some time now, it has no longer been enough for things just to look good: along with design and aesthetics there must be no lack of functionality. Consumers do not want to choose between one or the other – contemporary consumer goods products get our vote by successfully integrating both elements. The best among them are honoured annually at Ambiente by the Design Plus Award. The prize- winning products will be on show in an exhibition designed by Martin Metz. The Award’s sponsors are Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, the German Design Council (Rat für Formgebung), the City of Frank- furt together and the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammertag – DIHK), Berlin.

Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany
Galleria 1
The best of the best: only products that have already been awarded a design prize are nominated for the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2010 there will be a new structure to the Awards: in future up to 50 awards will be conferred. Along with the 25 awarded for products, a further 25 will be awarded for achievements in communications design. Moreover, in 2010, a new prize for young designers will be awarded for the first time. The formal Award Cere- mony will take place on the first day of Ambiente. The touring exhibi- tion of the interdisciplinary awards can be seen in the Galleria throughout the whole of the trade fair. These awards are the central pillar of the strategy of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology to foster design, and are organised under its aegis. Find out more at: www.designpreis.de

Plagiarius
Foyer, Halls 5.1 / 6.1
Ambiente not only honours the good ones: the “Plagiarius” campaign names and shames the imitations and the fakes and awards the negative prize to intellectual property thieves on the first day of the trade fair. The most brazen counterfeits are officially unmasked with the award of the Dwarf with the Golden Nose and can be seen in an exhibition in the Foyer of Hall 4.1 – together with the originals. Find out more at: www.plagiarius.com

Product of the year
Hall 5.1
The best there is in plastic: contenders for this award organised by the pro-K Industrial Association for Semi-Finished Products and Con- sumer Products made of Plastics (pro-K Industrieverbands Halbzeuge und Konsumprodukte aus Kunststoff e.V.) will be subject to rigorous scrutiny, before they become eligible for the title “Product of the Year”. The panel of experts will judge on criteria of functionality, design and innovation, and will choose winners in four categories: Home, Leisure, General Requirements and Technical Consumer Goods. The prize-winning products will be on show, with relevant ex- planations, in the exhibition in Galleria 0.

Kitchen Innovation Award
Foyer, Halls 5.1 / 6.1
In 2010, the award for the “Kitchen Innovation of the Year” will be presented for the first time at Ambiente – in the past it has been Tendence that was the backdrop for the celebrated award ceremony. The prize is organised by FoodVision Deutschland GmbH and their “Better Living” initiative. It honours innovation and exceptional quality of products from the areas of Kitchen and Tableware. The prize- winning products will be on show in an exhibition in the Foyer of Halls 5.1 and 6.1.

Promoting young talent: design of the future
Talents
Living: Hall 11.0
Dining: Hall 4.0
A top-quality stand, an international public, interesting surroundings, no costs: the ideal start for a career in design, which is what both of the international consumer-goods fairs Ambiente and Tendence offer year after year. The promotional programme “Talents” has established itself as a springboard for the design scene and is to be ex- tended at Ambiente 2010. Alongside an area for newcomers to the profession, with an emphasis on interior design, gifts and personal accessories (in the new Hall 11), the newcomers will, for the first time, have their own dedicated area in the Table and Kitchen section too (Hall 4.0). Messe Frankfurt is making 20 exhibition stands available for newcomers to the profession free of charge, in each of the two areas.

Next
Loft: Hall 11.0
Carat: Hall 9.3
Kid’s World: Hall 9.2
The next step on the career ladder: “Next” is aimed at young companies with a design background, who have already had the opportunity to get some experience in the business world and who would like to establish themselves firmly in the consumer-goods sector. After the initial success of the programme, the promotional initiative was also extended to other product segments at Tendence 2009: as always, avant-garde furniture design is what is most in demand, but “Next” is the right platform for trendy children’s products and innovative jewellery creations too. Participating companies will be able to attend the world’s leading trade fair for the consumer-goods sector and take advantage of the special offer of an all-inclusive, complete stand at a discounted rate.

Events: a finger on the pulse of the times
Trends 2010 / bora.herke
Galleria 1
Year after year, Ambiente is there to give a face to the trends for living, giving and enjoying: the trend show in Galleria 1 puts the prod- ucts of Ambiente’s exhibitors into the context of thematic trends in four style “worlds”, so that visitors can see and touch them in the flesh. The names given to the four worlds are: “genuine + sincere”, “present + everlasting”, “progressive + sensitive” and “crafted + origi- nal”. They embody the buzz words of current trends – authenticity, durability, progressiveness and craftsmanship.

300 years of porcelain in Germany
Foyer Hall 4.1
Be they baronial show-pieces, highly desirable collectors’ items, traditional family porcelain or mass produced items – porcelain reflects the development of society in an impressive and unmistakable way. The development of this cultural treasure is the theme of the display “300 Years of Porcelain” in the Foyer of Hall 4.1. Designer Gerd Sommer- lade will flesh out the most important milestones from three centuries of tableware history. This sought-after producer and style guru has already produced several major photo series for Lifestyle Magazine on the subject of Table, Kitchen and Hospitality. The Hamburg-born designer has also created displays to showcase lines and collections by major porcelain manufacturers such as Rosenthal and Reichen- bach.

A Mano
Hall 4.1
The items showcased in the “A Mano” display in Hall 4.1 are “hand- made” in the truest sense of the word. The focus here is on craftwork, hand-made production goods and short production runs from traditional manufacturers as well as from small workshops and businesses. Within the framework of “Table Prestige”, with its quality suppliers such as Dibbern, Riedel, Robbe & Berking, Rosenthal and Villeroy & Boch, Hall 4.1 offers participants the very best environment in which to establish international business contacts.

Garden Visions
Galleria 0
The borderlines between interiors and exteriors are becoming more and more blurred. Gone are the days when the balcony and the terrace were merely an appendage to a house or flat. They are becoming fully-fledged living areas in their own right – it is just that they are in the open air. Be it planters, outdoor furniture or barbecue equipment: among the “Garden Visions” displays there are some inspiring suggestions including designs for balconies, terraces and gardens from plant-pot specialists Scheurich and Lechuza and from outdoor furniture manufacturers Kettler and Weber Grill.

Afrique Authentic – Authentic Afrika
Hall 8.0
More and more consumers are seeking a combination of sustainability, traditional manufacturing techniques and quality. The “Afrique Au- thentic – Authentic Afrika” project meets this demand in an exemplary way: the home textiles and items of clothing manufactured in Burkina Faso are made of organic cotton and achieve their success as a re- sult of particularly high-quality design, which skilfully blends the mod- ern and the traditional. The project is on display in Hall 8.0 and show- cases a selection of products.

Gastronomic highlights: sustenance in style
In fitting out selected cafés and Mini-Pics, Messe Frankfurt regularly invites the help of famous designers and style gurus: those responsible for the design highlights in our eateries include Veit Streitenber- ger, Petra Strickstrock, Studio Morgen and Phoenix Flowers.

Note for journalists:
Further information and illustrative materials in high-resolution data files can be found at: www.ambiente.messefrankfurt.com.

Background information on Messe Frankfurt

Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s leading trade fair organiser, with 440 million euros in sales in 2008 and more than 1,500 employees worldwide. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international Sales Partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events “made by Messe Frankfurt” take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2008, Messe Frankfurt organised more than 100 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany.

Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, featuring 578,000 square metres, are currently home to ten exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Center. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent. For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com