The gates are about to open at Cersaie 2024, in the fair district of Bologna, confirming the worldwide appeal of the event that focuses this year on the concept of architectural space – interpreted in all its complexity, ranging from the residential dimension to the larger scale of contract projects, all the way to interpersonal relations, in the private constructions and large facilities that set the tone of cities.
In an area of 145,000 sqm visitors can view the offerings of 606 exhibitors – with 38% from abroad – arriving from 25 countries. The ceramic tile sector accounts for 55% of the total, followed by bath furnishings, non-ceramic surfaces, finishes and installation services. Thanks to Cersaie Business, the international intake involving over 230 professionals this year, the fair of ceramic tiles and bath furnishings attracts thousands of visitors, with a fine program of initiatives and special events, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Agency ICE.
This perspective also covers the new installation of the Services Center, “The Square,” curated by the architect Dario Curatolo, to rediscover the concept of the “piazza” as a meeting place for exchange of information and convivial pleasures: 1000 square meters, including an auditorium for conferences, a design bookstore, a set-up for a leading radio station, and a lounge that hosts the encounters of the 15th edition of the cultural program “building, dwelling, thinking.”
One of the key events in the program is the encounter with the Pritzker Prize winner in 2024, the Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto, who will conduct a master class (26 September, 11.00, at the Sala Europa of the Palazzo dei Congressi of BolognaFiere); he is the 13th Pritzker laureate to take part at Cersaie, and the first to be on hand during the year of the assignment of the prize. In a new development for this year, with a specific space located in the Galleria between Pavilions 21 and 22 – part of the Upstairs circuit, the pedestrian passage at the first floor, which continues into Galleria 25/26 – Cersaie is presenting encounters and seminars on the themes of training and orientation for work (24 and 25 September), and the “Career Days” during which 26 exhibiting companies will meet with students (26 and 27 September).
The “Café della Stampa” returns (with 18 appointments scheduled at Mall 29/30), along with the “Tiling Town” now in its 12th edition (Pavilion 32, outside which visitors can see the initiative “Bathroom Installation at Cersaie,” with four teams of installers from Italy, Switzerland, Denmark and Brazil), and “Cersaie Designs Your Home,” with the presence of 15 Italian interior design magazines.
