The 2022 edition of Cersaie

From 26 to 30 September, Cersaie returns to populate the Bologna Fair. The great attractiveness of the show is confirmed for operators in the world of construction, architecture, interior design and contract, who find the most important moment of their commercial relationship precisely in meeting with the exhibitors present at the fair. An event whose international relevance is confirmed by the fact that also for this edition the entire available area, equal to 150 thousand square meters, is totally occupied by over 620 exhibitors.

Information and training

The program of the 39th edition of Cersaie includes a rich calendar of events, in the name of internationality and quality, of information and training. The conferences and institutional press conferences, the architecture and interior design events of “Costruire Abitare Pensare” ("Building, living, thinking"), “La Città della Posa” (The city of laying), the Cafés of the Press created by the sector publications, are some of the events that will characterize the fair. All accompanied by an incoming campaign for foreign operators and international promotion activities, carried out thanks to the support of the Ice Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The "Cersaie Business" project sees 110 guests this year, with an increase of 40% compared to the participants in 2021. A particular focus is on real estate development projects in Saudi Arabia, from which a qualified delegation of Saudi architects and developers will be the protagonists of a round table together with the exhibiting companies, coordinated by the architect Massimo Iosa Ghini.
 
Also noteworthy is Cersaie Digital, which will be online for three weeks (from 19 September to 7 October) with the aim of improving and expanding relations between exhibitors and visitors, in order to consolidate participation in the physical fair.

Awards for quality

ADI, the association that brings together Italian design professionals and companies, will deliver two quality-related prizes (appointment 28th, at 2.30 pm). The first, the ADI Ceramics and Bathroom Design Award, will be awarded to the most innovative Italian products in the ceramic and bathroom furnishing sectors; the second, the ADI Booth Design Award, aims to enhance the exhibition stands that best promote the product and brand of the exhibiting companies within the fair.

Space for the archistars and great guests

The German architect Manuel Herz, very active in the design of furniture and exhibitions, as well as in urban planning and urban research, will be among the protagonists of the cultural program “Costruire Abitare Pensare” ("Building, living, thinking") with a conference to be held on the afternoon of Thursday 29. Manuel Herz's research focuses on the architecture and urban planning of migration. His book "From the field to the city: Refugee Camps of the Western Sahara" documents how refugee camps can be places of social emancipation.

Big guests at Cersaie will be also Michaela Wolf and Gerd Bergmeister, founders of the Bergmeisterwolf studio based in Bressanone and Rosenheim. Winner of numerous awards and nominations, in 2019 the Bergmeisterwolf studio won the Italian Architect Award 2019, promoted by the CNAPPC, for its approach to architecture that "responds to the context with attention to materials and with a bold formal solution".

Moreover, at 3.00 p.m. on Wednesday 28 September, architect Mario Botta will speak at a conference entitled “Building Peace” with the participation of Fulvio Irace. The conference will give participants an opportunity to discover how one of the many sustainable development goals can be pursued through architecture. As well as describing the Lviv church project, he will also discuss his belief that architecture has an ethical purpose and remains a form of resistance to immaterial society.

The 10th Tiling Town

Tiling Town, the meeting place for the world of Italian and international tile installers which is celebrating its 10th edition this year, will be located in a more than 400 square metre space in Hall 32, close to the Piazza Costituzione entrance to the Bologna Exhibition Centre. On each of the five days of the 39th Cersaie, visitors to Tiling Town will have the chance to attend slab installation showcases given by expert tile layers.
The technical seminars on slab laying aimed at architects and designers will be held in a permanent conference area and will consist of two hours of classroom sessions and two hours of practical experience in the installation workshop. They will be held in the afternoons from Monday 26 to Thursday 29 September (and on the morning of Friday 30 September) and will earn professional training credits for participating architects, engineers and surveyors.
Another interesting initiative is the Tiling Town Matinées, a series of tile installation events organised by Assoposa’s technical partners (Fila, Mapei and Raimondi) to be held at 10.00 a.m. daily from Monday to Friday.
A large space in “Tiling Town” will be occupied by the Italian ceramic tile layers’ association Assoposa, which communicates constantly with tile installation professionals and acts as an info point for visitors, as well as promoting Tile Layer Certification in accordance with Standard UNI 11493-2 in cooperation with certification body Certi.S.
Assoposa will also be organising three specific spaces. The first is the Academy devoted to extra-large slab layers and an exhibition of washbasins made from large slabs, as well as a work in progress illustrating the cladding of a complex volume with ceramic mosaic tiles. A second area will be devoted to outdoor spaces with demonstrations of raised and exterior floor installation. Assoposa in Rosa is a third area devoted to women working in the world of construction, especially in retail outlets.

Read the Cersaie Special published on Tile International 2/2022