TRADE FAIRS: London for design and Orgatec

*  The following article is an excerpt from Design in/from Spain magazine for smartphones and tablets.

London Design Festival
   
The London Design Festival launched back in 2003 and it has become a huge success story, with hundreds of organisations and businesses holding design events across the city. It is estimated that this year more than 200,000 people visited London to take part in the festival: the V&A museum, for example, said  nearly 110,000 people passed through its doors during festival week, while both 100% Design and the Design Junction fairs reported big increases in visitor numbers.

Spanish design companies are increasingly opening showrooms in London and architectural surface giant Cosentino timed the opening of its new London Cosentino City to coincide with LDF. Located in Clerkenwell - which has become the capital's design hub – this impressive and spacious venue is, of course, far more than a showroom. Because the aim of Cosentino Cities (other ones are in Singapore, New York, Sydney and Milan) is to give architects, designers and their clients a space to meet, plan projects and use a gamut of interactive tools that aid easy visualisation. The range of Cosentino's surface materials is on display, including Silestone, Dekton, and Sensa granite, and expert advice is on hand. (See our Company Profile on Cosentino)

Orgatec
       
Orgatec, which took place at the end of October, runs bi-annually and is the leading international fair for workplace interiors. With around 50,000 visitors and 600 exhibitors, it is always eagerly anticipated because it is where many leading brands unveil their new products for the first time.

This year nearly 20 Spanish companies exhibited, showing contemporary ergonomic designs for offices, corporate headquarters and commercial interiors. And a clear trend is that workplace furniture is becoming ever more stylish to the extent that many pieces would be equally at home at home, so to speak.

Many of Spain's big hitters in the office furniture business exhibited, including Akaba, Actiu, Andreu World, Enea, Viccarbe, Sellex, and Forma 5.

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