Ambiente 2013: Highlights, Trends and Awards at the Leading International Trade Fair in Frankfurt
Among the leading international trade fairs to be held in Frankfurt am Main, Ambiente is the most important in the global consumer-goods business. Occupying 27 halls, around 4,500 exhibitors will show original items and innovations in the fields of Dining, Living and Giving. The unrivalled offering will be flanked by an extensive complementary programme. In addition to a complete overview of the market, Ambiente will be putting on numerous events that will provide valuable inspiration for the coming business year.
Partnering France or La France un art de vivre
(Foyer Hall 4.1)
This year, as part of its partner country concept, it will be France’s turn to present an extensive programme based on the motto ‘La France un art de vivre’. It was possible to engage Olivia Putnam, one of the significant personalities in the French design scene, to act as ambassador for the project and curator for the special presentation. In a special show area in the foyer of Hall 4.1, the designer and artistic director of the renowned Studio Putman will be illustrating the French art of living. On 18 February, a theme day will be devoted to celebrating the partner country under the motto ‘La Fête de la France’.
Contract Business: a wealth of opportunities
Around 250 exhibitors will present their offerings and solutions for the commercial contract business at Ambiente 2013. In focusing on this topic, Ambiente is once more offering a specific package of measures that will make it even more interesting for decision-makers such as furnishing specialists, interior designers, caterers and the high-class hotel business. During the run-up to the fair, a digital matchmaking platform enables users to find information about companies and make arrangements for personal contacts at the fair. In addition, guided hotel tours reveal the various concepts for fitting out the top hotels ‘Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof’ and ‘The Goldman 25hours Hotel’. There are exciting talks and presentations for purchasers and decision-makers in the specially created Contract Business Lounge in Hall 4.2.
Ambiente Trends 2013: open for new ideas (Galleria 1)
A safe path through the jungle of styles is provided by Ambiente Trends 2013 in Galleria 1. There, the trend experts from the bora.herke.palmisano style studio will be presenting the four trend worlds ‘blossom field’, ‘classic ground’, ‘eccentric domain’ and ‘contrasting sphere’. Using specific examples, they will provide important pointers to the new colours, forms, designs or materials that the future has in store. The impressions gained from this presentation will acquire even greater depth in the talks held by this trio of designers, as well as guided tours of the special show.
Solutions: discovering functional innovations
(Foyer Hall 4.0)
Once again, Ambiente, the leading international trade fair, will focus on exhibitors’ innovations in the fields of tableware, kitchen ware and household goods. After the successful premiere at Ambiente 2012, the London product designer Sebastian Bergne will also curate the upcoming special show in the foyer of Hall 4.0. In terms of orchestration, Bergne has again been guided by a user-oriented concept that is clear and comprehensible: the perfect setting for functional innovations.
Design Plus: an award with a tradition (Galleria 1)
A success for the 30th time: in 1983, with the aim of creating a larger public for products that explore new paths in the world of design, Messe Frankfurt initiated the ‘Design Plus’ competition. The competition is organised by the ‘Form and Life Initiative’ [‘Initiative Form und Leben’]. The competition is sponsored by Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, the German Design Council [Rat für Formgebung] (Frankfurt) and the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce [Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag] (Berlin). The award is presented by an international jury strictly on points of design, usability and materials used.
German Design Award 2013 (Galleria 1)
The German Design Award is the international premium prize awarded by the German Design Council [Rat für Formgebung]. For the second edition of the prize an independent jury of experts selected a total of 90 award winners in ten categories from more than 1,500 nominated products. In the ‘Home Interior’ and ‘Lifestyle’ categories, for example, products from Alfi, ASA Selection, JIA or Rosenthal received the Design Council’s accolade. The award ceremony will be held at Ambiente 2013 on the first day of the fair. The products will be on display on every day of the fair.
Talents: fresh design ideas from 13 countries (Hall 4.0, 11.0)
‘Talents’, the successful scheme for promoting newcomers, combines creativity and business. Ambiente offers selected next-generation designers a free opportunity to present their works to an international trade public. This time, they come from China, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal and the Czech and Slovak Republics. In a specifically designated area in Loft Hall 11.0, 18 young designers and design studios will present themselves and their work; eleven ‘Talents’ have made it to the final selection stage in the Dining segment.
Next: new product ideas from design oriented small enterprises (Halls 9.3, 11.0, 11.1)
In the ‘Next’ promotion area, young companies with a background in design will present exciting innovations in the product segments ‘Loft’, ‘Young&Trendy’ and ‘Carat’. A total of 35 small enterprises from 14 countries will be exhibiting their products in the three special areas in Halls 9.3, 11.0 and 11.1: witty presents, unusual jewellery and creative accessories for modern lifestyles which make that subtle difference to the assortment. Anyone looking for new product ideas at Ambiente should not pass up the opportunity to visit the ‘Next’ special areas.
International Lifestyle Studies: the trend scouts of tomorrow
(Foyer Hall 11.0)
In cooperation with Ambiente, the Fontys University of Applied Science from the Netherlands will be sending trend scouts to the fair for the second time. It is one of the few universities in the world to offer young, up-and-coming professionals a course of studies in ‘Trend Watching’. The young trend watchers will focus on future-oriented, innovative and trendy products. They will be deliberately on the lookout for megatrends at Ambiente. The trend scouts will present the results of their research at their own stand and while making the rounds of the fair.
Plagiarius: Innovation vs. Imitation (Foyer Halls 5.1/6.1)
Every year, as part of the Ambiente programme, the plagiarism campaign Aktion Plagiarius e.V. awards the ‘Plagiarius’ negative prize for especially brazen copies. An exhibition will compare the counterfeit products and the originals. The fakes can often be identified through their use of inferior materials, poor workmanship and the lack of quality and safety controls. The aim of the award is to stigmatise the plagiarists’ unscrupulous business practices and to sensitise the public to the problem.
Kitchen Innovation of the Year (Foyer Halls 5.1/6.1)
The ‘Kitchen Innovation of the Year’ award is organised by the LifeCare Initiative and pays tribute to products that are especially user-friendly. The public-choice award, which is conferred annually, covers the product categories ‘Kitchen Fittings and Apparatus’, ‘Small and Large Electrical Appliances’, ‘Cooking and Kitchen Equipment’ and ‘Kitchen Accessories’. At Ambiente 2013, this will be the seventh occasion when the coveted distinction is awarded.
Pro-K Product of the Year 2013 (Hall 5.1)
It is already clear who will be the winners of the ‘Product of the Year 2013’ competition, which is organised by the pro-K Industrial Association for Semi-finished Products and Consumer Products made of Plastics (pro-K Industrieverband Halbzeuge und Konsumprodukte aus Kunststoff e.V.). A jury of experts will award prizes to a total of 18 consumer products in plastic that have impressed them by their successful combination of innovation, design and functionality in each of the categories. There will be an exhibition of the award-winning products at Ambiente.
Present: a new setting for everyday things
(Foyer Hall 11.0)
The >Present< project deals with the theme of how to provide a new setting for everyday things. It is all about the microcosm of one's own four walls and the various functions they perform. Students from Faculty III - Media, Information and Design - of the University of Hanover will present designs that were created as part of this project.
adream 2012 ideas competition (Foyer Hall 11.0)
For the second time, the Free State of Thuringia and the Region of Picardy have invited applications for the ‘adream’ ideas competition. The competition is about linking architecture and design with the theme of renewable resources and ecological materials. From a total of 532 projects submitted from all over Europe; some will be on display at Ambiente.
Cafés with added value
In the ‘Café Manufaktur’ (Hall 4.1), French designer Olivier Gagnère uses a selection of exhibitors’ products to create a special atmosphere. The ‘Metropolitan Garden Café’ and the ‘Café Seeds in the City’ (Hall 8.0) give visitors an impression of what the topic of urban gardening is all about. These and many other cafés and restaurants are an invitation to the visitor to relax and network during the fair.
Ambiente, the leading international trade fair
Ambiente is the leading international trade fair for products for the table, kitchen, household, giving and decorating, as well as for home and furnishing accessories. For five days at the beginning of the business year, around 4,500 exhibitors occupy 27 exhibition halls to show what consumers will be able to see in shops around the world throughout the year. However, Ambiente is a must not only for the range of products, which is unrivalled in terms of both depth and breadth. The world’s leading consumer-goods fair is also distinguished by a wide variety of events, promotional programmes for young people, trend presentations and awards ceremonies.
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
With a turnover of € 467.5 million and 1,725 employees worldwide, Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s biggest trade-fair organiser. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries and around 50 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 2011, Messe Frankfurt organised 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 Centre. 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
