From September 23–27, 2024, Bologna’s trade fair complex, BolognaFiere, will again host Cersaie, the premium industry event for ceramics and bathroom furnishings. With the quality and innovation of the products on display, a busy program of educational events, and abundant networking opportunities, Cersaie is an unmissable event for professionals the world over.
This year’s exhibition theme is “Architectural Space.” From the domestic to the broader contract sectors, the event will explore the concept up to and including relationships between people in the settings of private buildings through to the large public areas that define our cities.
Cersaie will occupy 15 halls, including the newly reopened Pavilion 18, which will be dedicated to ceramics. Booth spaces are now sold out, demonstrating the importance of the event internationally. An area of 145,000 m2 will host 606 exhibitors, 38% of whom are from outside Italy, with 25 different countries represented in all. Ceramic tiles will be the centerpiece of the event, followed by bathroom furnishings, non-ceramic surfaces, finishes, and ceramics contractors.
Plus, thanks to Cersaie Business, over 230 international business operators will be at the exhibition, who’ll meet with thousands of visitors as part of a broad program of initiatives and events organized in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Trade Agency.
An important new feature this year is the overhauled layout in the Services Centre. Dubbed The Square, this 1000 m2 space will host a conference auditorium, a design bookshop, a radio broadcast station, and a lounge area. It will form the nerve center of Cersaie, hosting the sessions of the 15th “Building, Dwelling, Thinking” talkfest along with many other important events. Designed by architect Dario Curatolo, the layout draws its inspiration from a typical Bologna square as a place for meeting, sharing, and socializing.
Scheduled for Monday, September 23, at 11:00 a.m., the keynote will take place in the conference center’s Europauditorium.
The next day, the international press conference Ceramics of Italy will take place in the Auditorium in The Square, starting at 6:00 p.m. As usual, the session will focus on current trends and future prospects in the ceramics sector. It will also include the awards ceremony of the XXVII Ceramics of Italy Journalism Award, which recognizes the best article published in a foreign magazine dedicated to Cersaie and the Italian ceramics industry. Three foreign publications will also receive honorable mentions.
On Wednesday, September 25, at 3:00 p.m., the “Building, Dwelling, Thinking” program will feature a meeting with Belgian architect David Van Severen, a supporter of architecture as a cultural enterprise, who will discuss sustainability as a catalyst for shaping our urban and social environments.
This will be followed at 5:00 p.m. by the ADI awards ceremony, now up to its tenth edition. The awards include the ADI Ceramics and Bathroom Design Award, which recognizes Italian ceramic and bathroom furnishing products, and the ADI Booth Design Award, for the booths at Cersaie 2024 that most effectively communicate corporate identity and value.
The highlight of the “Building, Dwelling, Thinking” program will be the session with Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto, winner of the 2024 Pritzker Prize, who will present a special guest lecture on Thursday, September 26, at 11:00 a.m. in the conference center’s Sala Europa. Yamamoto is the 13th winner of the Pritzker Prize to participate at Cersaie and the first to do so during the same year of his award. During the afternoon of the same day, French architect Rudy Ricciotti will present a conference in which he’ll explore the boundaries of architecture.
The afternoon will also include the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition awards ceremony, a competition that recognizes the best architectural projects created in Europe using Italian ceramics. Jury president, Louisa Hutton, and jurors Domitilla Dardi, Luca Molinari, and Steve Clem will be at the event.
At 7:00 p.m., Cersaie Evening will begin, during which the Confindustria Ceramic Distributors Award ceremony will take place, an award that recognizes the four distributors that have achieved excellence in their relationship with the Italian ceramics industry. On the morning of Friday, September 27, Giulio Iacchetti will present Lesson in Reverse, an event aimed at high school students that will take place in Sala Europa.
Now up to its ninth edition, the Press Café series is returning to Mall 29/30 with 18 events scheduled. “Architectural Space,” this year’s theme, will be examined by 18 newspapers and experts, who’ll discuss a range of topical issues, related to design, architecture, wellness, and urban planning from the perspective of ceramics and bathroom furnishings. The sessions can be attended in person and streamed live.
The 12th Tiling Town event will offer innovative demonstrations of ceramic tiling installation conducted by master tile installers from Academy Assoposa. Occupying over 400 m2 in Pavilion 32, the event will explore the links between humans and technology, highlighting how it’s possible to create value through more sustainable, inclusive work environments.
Held outdoors, there will also be an event in which teams of tile installers – one each from Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, and Brazil – will compete as they create bathroom environments with ceramic surfaces.
Conferences are also scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, which will address current issues in the relationship between the production and distribution systems, the effects of the EU’s Green Homes Directive, and new housing models.
Last but not least, a new event this year is Career Days, a series of meetings and seminars dedicated to training and career guidance for high school graduates, undergraduates, and graduates.
>>> For further information: Cersaie 2023
All images courtesy Cersaie