International for the 22nd Saiedue Living Exhibition

The XXII edition of Saiedue Living, International Exhibition on Interior Architecture, Building Renewal, Technologies and Finishing took place at the Bologna Trade Centre from 19th to 23rd March.

The exhibition was organised by Federlegno-Arredo in cooperation with Edilegno, Uncsaal and Bologna Fiere, with the support of O.N. Organizzazione Nike secretariat.

Saiedue Living reconfirmed its role as the reference exhibition of the sector, despite the initial concerns due to the impending war and to the current unfavourable economic situation.

The presence of professionals was remarkable (with an increase of 5.09% in comparison with the 2002 show on the total number of visitors, which was 117,811 and an increase of 10.2% registered for international visitors, increased to 8,851).

The results achieved positively confirm the expectations of all exhibitors who had already in the past months relied on the success of Saiedue Living: 1,529 exhibitors (52 more compared with 2002) occupied 20 pavilions on more than 152,116 sq. meters of exhibition space, also needing temporary structures inside the Bologna fair ground.

Over the past twenty-two years the exhibition has succeeded in giving an innovative, international insight into our changed living requirements: at Saiedue Living the home is far more than four walls and a roof, it is more a complex of elements that are capable of translating into products the need for the comfort, safety and security of public and private spaces.

This is interior architecture as a 'system', the cornerstone of the event whose formula focuses not so much as on single products, but rather on the 'lifestyles' that generate demand for consumption, fusing products and settings, cultural routes and suggestions.

The next Saiedue Living Exhibition will be in Bologna from 17th to 21st March 2004.

---

GlassBuild America has Successful Debut

GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo made a successful debut, attracting over 7,000 industry professionals to Atlanta for the three-day event. Held March 12-14, 2003 at the Georgia World Congress Center, GlassBuild America was organised by the National Glass Association (NGA), and co-sponsored by the Glass Association of North America (GANA) and the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA).

To signify the new concept of bringing together the glass, window, and door industries as never before, GlassBuild America was billed as 'a whole new ballgame' and the event kicked off with an appearance by baseball legend, Cal Ripken, Jr. at the Opening Festivities. Nearly 40 educational seminars and demonstrations, an opening cocktail reception, a two-day architect symposium, and three days of exhibits rounded out this unique industry event. The exhibit hall featured a wide variety of glass, window, and door industry related products displayed by 400 exhibiting companies occupying 1,520 booths-marking the largest show in NGA history.

Attendees had many favourable comments on the new show concept and the wide variety of displays. First time attendee Gary Parr of Milgard Mfg. stated, 'I was primarily interested in the window processing equipment and it was nice having the vendors all in one place to compare to one another. I was impressed with the show overall.'

Edward Goldberg of Utica Glass Co., an attendee of NGA's previous shows, commented, 'NGA is correct in its new motto 'A Whole New Ballgame.' Mixing some of the equipment booths with material vendor booths created more interest for attendees. This was one of the best NGA shows in my opinion.' Mr. Goldberg's sentiments were echoed by attendee Mark Lomax of Swan/Freedom who wrote, 'What a great show!!!! It had a wide diversity of manufacturers, materials, products, supplies, and equipment…it was definitely worth the trip!'

Many exhibitors also expressed their satisfaction with the show and their booth traffic. 'We were pleasantly surprised with the turnout at the show. Atlanta was a good location and GlassBuild America marketed the show well,' commented Abe Diehl from Joseph Machine Co. 'The show had a real national appeal, which is what we wanted. We look forward to the next show in San Diego.'

Brian Brunette, of Vetrotech Saint-Gobain N.A., also gave a positive review, 'I thought that the recent GlassBuild America was a pleasant surprise…we thought that the traffic at the show was exceptional and we were able to generate many qualified leads from the three days.' In summarising the success of the event, Bill Donnely from Custom Craft Plastics remarked, 'I thought it was very well attended- there was a buzz from one end of the hall to the other. There was a high level of energy compared to the other recent industry trade shows. There was a good flow of people and we were very pleased'

A review of exhibitor's products displayed in Atlanta can be found at www.glassbuild.com.

The next GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo will be held March 10-12, 2004 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA. For more information contact: 866/342-5642, extension 300

A review of the show, with pictures, can also be found here:

---

Final Report on GlasKon 2003 - In Future Aways Under the BAU Umbrella

GlasKon celebrated a successful anniversary. The Forum for lnnovations in Glass, Architecture and Technology was held for the 10th time from 13th to 18th January 2003. GlasKon, which comprises a congress and a special exhibition, will be held regularly every two years in future at the same time as BAU.

Due to the positive response to the last event, the GlasKon special show was again designed as an integral part of BAU. 61 exhibitors from the glass industry, 38 of whom were GlasKon exhibitors, presented the latest products, equipment and services relating to innovative glass construction in an area of 2,500 m2 in Hall C1 of the Munich Trade Fair Centre. The glass presentation was aimed at experts such as architects, construction engineers, facade consultants, facade companies, glass producers, glass processing companies, metalworking firms, sealing material manufacturers and designers. Large crowds vlsited the Innovation Point in Hall C1, which was designed as a glass pavilion and was manned by the University of Stuttgart and the Rosenheim lnstitute for Window Technology.

Around 200 delegates from six countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, ltaly and Israel) attended the GlasKon Congress, which was held concurrently with the special exhibition in the lnternational Congress Centre (ICM) on 15th and 16th January 2003. The Congress featured 21 renowned speakers (nearly twice as many as the number at the last Congress) from home and abroad, for example Professor Stefan Behling (Foster & Partners, London / University of Stuttgart) and Professor James Carpenter (James Carpenter Associates, New York, London). They presented the latest projects, application areas and research results on the topics of 'New technologies', 'lnnovative energy concepts' and 'Building covers'. The choice of topics and talks met with an extremely positive response among the Congress delegates.

Graphisoft Deutschland GmbH announced the 4th ArchiCAD Prize during the Congress. This competition carries prize money of EURO 5,000 and is aimed at architecture students in Germany. The prize-giving ceremony will take place during GlasKon 2005.

The Congress was under the overall technical control of Prof. Jürgen Braun, Chief Editor of 'Glas Architektur und Technik', Stuttgart, and Dipl.-lng. Peter Seger and Dipl. Ing. Tina Volz from the lnstitute for Building Construction and Design, Chair 2, University of Stuttgart. The Congress documents can be ordered by sending a fax to: +49 (0)89 94923069. These documents cost EURO 40.00 (including postage).

An exhibition forum was organised for the first time in the ICM during the GlasKon anniversary. The exhibits included showcase elements from the University of Dresden, a mero sculpture (glass tube), a model glass pavilion from the University of Stuttgart, glass murals by Franz Schönbeck, displays by Glas Fischer and insulating and monolithic glass fiom Glas Keil. Thanks to the kind support of the University of Stuttgart and Schott-Glas, visitors to the Congress were also able to see a tubular hanging sculpture and a glass bridge as design exhibits.

Another very popular event was the reception in the Technical Town Hall, which was organised by Messe München to celebrate the anniversary of GlasKon. Around 150 guests attended this reception. Special attention was paid to the lecture by Prof. Werner Sobek (University of Stuttgart, lnstitute for Lightweight Construction Design and Planning) who pointed out, for example, that glass is predicted to have probably the widest development potential of all materials currently used in building.

In agreement with the industry, which is represented on the technical advisory panel of GlasKon, the GlasKon Congress and Special exhibition will be held permanently in future at two-year intervals at the same time as BAU. Congress delegates can therefore attend BAU and visitors to BAU will have the opportunity to take part in the GlasKon Congress. The two-year rhythm also corresponds to the development cycles in the glass industry and ensures that GlasKon does not clash with other national trade fairs.

The next GlasKon will be held from 17th to 22nd January 2005. Further information on GlasKon 2003 and BAU 2003 can be found on the lnternet: http://www.glaskon.de and http://www.bau-muenchen.de. Current photos of GlasKon 2003 can be seen and downloaded in print quality (300dpi) on the BAU website (http://www.bau-muenchen.de/Fotogalerie /Sonderschauen).
Email: mailto:info@glaskon.de

---

Further Increase in the lnternational Importance of BAU

• Increase of more than 9% in the number of foreign visitors
• Praise for the international character and expertise of trade visitors
• Total of around 180,000 visitors on the 6 days
• Exhibitors: Still pessimistic expectations regarding the domestic economy, confidence regarding foreign business

The international importance of BAU has increased still further. During the six days of the trade fair, over 30,000 foreign visitors from more than 100 countries (2001: 90 countries) went to Munich to obtain information on the latest trends and innovations in the European construction industry. The number of foreign visitors rose by more than 9%. ln particular, the number of visitors from outside Europe grew substantially. For example; there were considerable increases in the number of visitors from China, Japan, the USA, Israel, Turkey and Russia. Turkey climbed to fourth position in the table of top visitor countries. Major increases were also recorded in the number of visitors from Spain and the UK, two countries where the construction industry is currently enjoying dynamic growth. By contrast, fewer visitors came from Austria, ltaly and Switzerland. The construction industry in these countries, as in Germany, is now experiencing economic difficulties. Due to the low level of construction activity in Germany, a situation which has been going on for years, the number of German trade visitors has declined, albeit not as much as was feared. However, the expertise of trade visitors and, in particular, decision-makers has increased and the number of visiting companies from Germany has only dropped slightly. With a total of 180,000 trade visitors (-8% compared with BAU 2001), the attendance can be regarded as relatively stable in the current economic climate.

Praise for the international character and expertise of trade visitors
The mood in the exhibition halls was very good although many exhibitors had gone to BAU with rather subdued expectations on account of the difficult situation in the German market. This good mood was created, in particular, by the large number of foreign visitors and the exceptionally high expertise of trade visitors who were specifically looking to hold discussions with exhibitors. Some companies actually managed to establish more business contacts than two years ago. The large number of foreign visitors aroused positive expectations regarding foreign business whilst domestic demand was still rated by exhibitors as pessimistic. The international character and expertise of trade visitors were also highlighted in positive terms in the exhibitor and visitor survey conducted by NFO Infratest. 67% of exhibitors, 8% more than two years ago, assessed the international character of visitors as 'excellent to good'. The visitor survey also revealed that the proportion of decision-makers had also risen again substantially from 85% to 91%, another indication of the expertise of visitors. Nearly every visitor (98%) was a trade visitor looking specifically for business discussions and contacts.

18% of BAU visitors from architect's and planning offices
Around 18% of visitors to BAU were again architects and construction engineers. BAU offered a special information programme for this highly qualified target group for the first time this year. The lnternational Congress Centre (ICM) played host to numerous congresses on topics such as 'lntegrated planning and construction', 'Climatic design'. 'Sustainable construction' and 'lndustrial and commercial construction with wood'. The speakers included renowned experts such as the architects Christoph lngenhoven and Michael Zimmermann, as well as Gerhard Hausladen, Professor of the Chair of Building
Climate and Building Services at Munich Technical University. Leading architectural trade journals celebrated anniversaries during BAU. The 'Deutsche Bauzeitschrift (DBZ)' celebrated its 50th anniversary and 'Baumeister' its centenary.

Special shows and Innovation Points as information platforms
BAU strengthened its image as an information and communication platform with numerous special shows and the lnnovation Points which were created for the first time. The CERAMlCA special show in Hall A5 featured a daily alternating programme comprising product presentations and talks by Italian, Spanish and German tile manufacturers. The special show on 'lntelligent building covers', which was held for the first time, primarily attracted architects. Large numbers of visitors were again seen at GlasKon, which presented the latest products for innovative glass construction, and the special show entitled 'Computer-aided construction'. The GlasKon Congress, which was held concurrently with the special show, was also well-attended.

Comments on BAU 2003

Thomas Lauritzen, Schüco lnternational KG: 'We had more customer contacts than two years ago and must now try to continue the good mood. Our concept of erecting a Schuco city on an area of 1,300 m2 and showing how all the exhibits work turned out to be a complete success.'

Martin Hörmann, Hörmann KG: 'We fulfilled all our expectations. We were very satisfied with the number of visitors. We attained our main objective of presenting our product innovations to a broad group of customers. We will therefore start 2003 with optimism.'

Anke Koenen, Schott Jenaer Glas GmbH: 'The new fire protection glazing which we presented for the first time at BAU went down well with our customers. Between 20% and 30% of the visitors to our stand came from abroad. It was noticeable that many of these visitors came from Eastern Europe, but also from China and Korea.'

Dr. Helmut Hohenstein, ift Rosenheim: 'Straightaway we managed to acquire the services of 40 project partners for the special show on 'lntelligent building covers', which we designed and managed. The response among trade visitors was excellent. Architects, in particular, were interested in the special show. From China we welcomed a delegation of the Chinese Plastics Association.'

Jan van Moerkerke, Renson: 'We were placed right by the entrance of Hall B1 and had around 20% more customer contacts than two years ago. Visitors to our stand included large numbers of architects and people from abroad, for example Turkey. Overall, we met more highly qualified trade visitors who were looking for specific information.'

Jean-Guy Bernard, Canadian joint stand: 'Our joint stand contained more than 20 companies, most of whom came from the timber industry. Every company met with a good response. BAU is the most important trade fair for us in Europe and Germany is an important market for us Canadians.'

Bau 2005 will be held from 17th to 22nd January 2005.

Web: http://www.bau-muenchen.de