The World Design Organization just a few days ago designated Valencia World Design Capital 2022. One of the most interesting towns in Spain is celebrating its recent designation with the biggest edition of Hábitat Valencia of recent years.In the context of this exciting news, Hábitat opened its doors yesterday. The fair runs until 20th of September and will be the first major event that the Mediterranean city has celebrated winning an accolade that no other Spanish city has ever been awarded. As to visitor numbers, the expectation is optimistic. The furniture, décor and lighting event will be showcasing products from 503 international companies, brands and 25,000 professionals are expected to visit, from 65 countries. As a result of this expansion, there will be twice as many designs and cutting edge exhibitors and an elevate foreign exhibition number respect the last year. These are high-level operators from Belgium, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.The fair will be showing a good number of innovations, new collections and solutions for interiors and home furnishings. These include the latest creations by international figures such as Patricia Urquiola, Christophe Pillet, Jasper Morrison, Marcel Wanders, Jaime Hayón, Gabriel Teixidó, Francesc Rifé, Ximo Roca, Mario Ruizand the eternal Vicent Martínez.The exhibitors, too, will be hoping to stun the market with innovations that combine the latest in design with new technology. Ecology and sustainability also play a major part in the innovations on show at Hábitat. One example is a Valencia-based manufacturer ARTESMOBLE showing an outdoor table that works using solar energy, with built-in solar panels and sockets to plug electronic devices into. Also on show at Hábitat are bedrooms for youngsters featuring folding beds with mechanisms activated by voice assistants such as Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. And mattresses that feature a special fabric that eliminates electromagnetic frequencies from mobile phones and reclaimed plastic from the Mediterranean recycled into designer mattresses.Another key item on the agenda for the week is the series of lectures being delivered in the Ágora nude on Level 3 and that will address the relationship between contract projects, design and interior design, digital challenges and the consumer’s experience. Speakers include renowned professionals such as Fran Silvestre, Ramón Esteve and Jaime Sanahuja.Hábitat also features a retrospective exhibition of the work of Valencian architect Ramón Esteve that includes his most significant pieces of work, as well as a cycle of conferences and professional meetings organized by Asociación Nacional de Industriales y Exportadores de Muebles de España (Anieme) together with Amazon about digital commerce and its application to the furniture sector.
