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Like at any big show, some stands at SIA Guest 2011 stood out. Here’s a list of our favourite products and manufacturers…

1 – Concept: dimension beauty
SCHÖNHUBER FRANCHI is proposing the Total Look at SIA GUEST. It is the original concept that sees the hotel as an experience that states its personality and brand, and with a new business unit for creating personalised spaces. The company also took part in the “Specchia” installation by De-Signum Studio Lab, an area dedicated to outdoor design inside the 100% HOTEL exhibit. (SCHÖNHUBER FRANCHI, Pav. C3 Booth 127)

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2 – Turnkey restaurant, luxury within reach

Relying on the enormous experience it has acquired over the years, CARAIBA has enlarged its wealth of offers with the prestigious acquisitions of CARAIBA LUXURY to clad new openings and renovations of restaurants and hotels with the sophisticated design of its brands. At SIA GUEST 2011 CARAIBA LUXURY presented a genuine showroom of tasteful and quality products: Spiegelau glasses; Pot, Robbe & Berking, Cutipol and Robert Welc cutlery; Staub, Zwilling, Sha Ra Ku Mono, Kitchen Planning, Joel Robuchon and Forge De Laguiole kitchen products; Hering Berlin, Sieger By Fürstenberg and Fürstenberg, Dibbern, Feeling and Figgjo porcelain; and Mono, Amabiente, Daff, Opussum Design, Nick Munro and Jaur accessories. (CARAIBA LUXURY, Pav. C3 Booth 046)

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3 – Mission culture… of textiles

Spreading the culture of textiles amongst everyone who loves to surround themselves with sophisticated atmospheres, making furnishings of impeccable quality by using the best processing and manufacturing techniques. This is the mission of GAMBA MANIFATTURE, which with the new project Contract completes what has been its commitment since 1918: meet every requirement with innovation and professional competence. (GAMBA MANIFATTURE, Pav. C3 Booth 166)

gamba manifatture

4 – The kitchen flies with the robot

Innovation of outstanding value comes from ALESSI. The Dressed line proposes white porcelain dishes with relief decoration and stainless steel cutlery, also with relief decorations. From KitchenAid (distributed by Alessi) comes an innovative robot with lifting mechanism complete with 6.9 l bowl, all in metal and highly versatile. (ALESSI, Pav. C3 Booth 041)

alessi dressed procelain

5 – The green room

The Daniele Menichini architectural firm is presenting the make-up of a real project in the development stage at SIA Guest. Every product and every technology in the “green room” meets all of the “eco” standards demanded by the low environmental impact ecological and energy qualification. It is increasingly the starting point from which hoteliers in Italy as well take off on the course of choices for interventions both on new buildings and renovation of existing buildings. (GREEN ROOM, Pav. C5 Booth 081)

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6 – Love in a room

The love room to you. Love Suite Love places the bed in the centre and raises it off the ground to make it the focus of an 85-metre suite, a private theatre for a journey somewhere between dream and sensuality through the exclusive circle of sustainable products. (HOTEL SPA DESIGN, Hall A5-C5 Booth 005).

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7 – An electric… table!

Waysol is an innovative line of tables – among other products – that capture the light and turn it into electricity. The surface is a photovoltaic panel protected by a pane of glass, and its simple exposure to light lets it generate energy that can be used to supply a lamp, charge a smartphone or iPad, and even light the room. Solutions are also available for outdoors: during the day a table in the garden captures the light and is illuminated during the night. Other variants seem incredible: an open book with miniature panels in place of the pages set on the windowsill during the day becomes a battery to supply a floor lamp inside the house. Italian technology boasting extraordinary creativity offers SIA GUEST a tasty novelty. (DELUXE DREAMING, Hall A5-C5 Booth 032)

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8 – Beautifully made carpeting

EGE, one of the most prestigious European carpet manufacturers, is presenting the EGE PHOTOGRAPHY collection of art carpeting decorated with black and white photographs by the Milanese artist Elia Festa, which EGE was able to reproduce on top quality carpeting. In this way the works of art become a textile floor. No longer just a designer for industrial design, but an artist for Industrial Art. An idea that leads us into a new era in which art repeats itself thanks to the industrial potentials of EGE. The result? A collection of art carpeting and rugs. Complete with certifications. (EGE, Hall A5/C5 Booth 014)

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9 – Heating a hotel while protecting the environment

Heating a hotel with natural gas and renewable energy-powered ROBUR heat pump. Two goals in one: not pollute and save on costs. Indeed, the heat pump proposed prevents the emission of 4.2 tons of carbon dioxide and increases the value of the property by increasing its energy class. It also makes it possible to save up to 40% on heating costs compared to condensing boilers. Last but not least, it is modular and flexible. (ROBUR, Pav. C7 Booth 199)

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10 – ‘Mediterraneo’, the wooden house that loves nature

A natural oak laminated wood and solid Ipé wood house finished with non-toxic and non-polluting paints. ‘Mediterraneo” is a real Luxury house that includes a wellbeing area fitted out with Whirlpool Bath Spa and chromotherapy, made resistant by a steel load-bearing structure and innovative by a new-generation photovoltaic system. Low electricity consumption and domotic management make ‘Mediterraneo” a house truly on the cutting edge. (SPRECH, Pav. A5 Booth 172)

sprech mediterraneo

11 – The bed that rocks even adults to sleep
Its name is Sway and is one of the most relaxing new products presented at Sia Guest 2011. This bed, made by the company Klafs has the feature of slowly rocking its lucky guests, who can also enjoy absolutely relaxing atmospheres of lights and music. (KLAFS GMBH, Pav. A3 Booth 049)

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12 – Mini pools, super wellbeing

Your guests deserve the wellbeing of the FabarPool mini pools. The well-known company ensures and reintroduces it while asking the hotelier, “Do you know what is the must that attracts more customers to your hotel and makes them come back? Wellness.” FabarPool produces mini whirlpool baths, nothing less than mini spas with an innovative design that turn the hotel into an oasis of wellbeing at a low cost. (FABARPOOL, Pav. A3 Booth 056)

fabarpool mini pool

November has come and gone and with it the 61st remarkable edition of Italy’s internationally recognised hospitality exhibition, SIA Guest. Officially partnered with the Society of British Interior Design (SBID), the exhibition once again offered a hub for top-tier manufacturers, service providers and designers, both Italian and foreign, operating in the hospitality market.

SIA Guest, organized by Rimini Fiera S.P.A. at the Rimini Expo Centre fair ground in Italy, took place on 26-29 November 2011 and focused on business and excellence in innovation, attracting 600 exhibiting firms and more than 37,000 professional trade visitors from 30 different countries. A stand was provided for the Society in the TREND hall to promote its hard work towards better standards in the industry, and the benefits of membership for international manufacturers and designers. Fittingly, SIA Trend is a new hall in which a business area and cultural exhibition are combined, under the banner of experimentation for hotels and collective venues.

The Society took this opportunity to officially announce that it will be hosting the SBID International Design Awards wp-content/2012 at SIA Guest next year, with a focus on contract interior design. The competition will be open from December.

A hand-picked delegation of SBID’s top interior designers and architects was invited to attend the exhibition, meet the best international manufacturers on a one-to-one basis and participate in broader networking events, with a complementary 5-star hotel stay at i-Suite.

The British delegation was impressed by the unique mix of innovation and trends showcased: alongside the products of leading firms in the sectors of contract furnishings (china, glassware, silverware, table linens, bed linens), interdeco’ (fabrics, flooring, carpets and interior décor accessories), food service equipment, technology and illumination, safety, bathroom, wellness and fitness.

The 60,000m² of exhibit space offered a series of special displays, workshops, demos and conferences which completed the agenda. Exhibitors were given a chance to meet a qualified, select public thanks to b2b meetings and new formats that attracted buyers from major markets. The setting made for stimulating and fruitful encounters between supply and demand.

With a unique mix of innovation, trends, atmosphere, and conferences, the hospitality trade show is a not-to-be missed annual date for hospitality sector professionals – book early or become an SBID member to join the free annual delegation.

Arriving at SIA is in itself an experience; I travelled to it at 8.30am in a people carrier with the European Council of Hotel Management Association who were heading to SIA to firstly host their own Board Meeting before visiting the show. En-route we held an inspiring impromptu conference and we put Europe right, a creative group of real people, proactive and fun as well as the united European voice for hotel owners and managers. I found the conversation and vision spot-on they collectively understand exactly what a hotel must deliver to be a success. As designers we must consult and include that knowledge within our decision making process. As architects and designers we should reflect on the experience the consumer has throughout the entire process of the hotel experience. I mean right back to the beginning from making the reservation to leaving the hotel with our luggage after paying the bill. Much of what is involved throughout that entire experience is `feeling` it is the emotion not the function the consumer experiences which remains.

 I stayed at the Grand Hotel a magnificent celestial hotel of yesteryear, with everything that entails. The evening turndown service left a bookmark on my pillow, as a single occupant these little touches are an endorsement of the personal service, then I read the quote: “But where am I? I feel as if I am nowhere. If death is like this … this is not going to be nice. Everything gone, the people, the trees, the birds in the air, the wine, forget it” Fellini.  Well now am I very happy to sleep in this big empty room with that last thought in my head? Design of an interior is more than just the furniture, the budget and the cleanliness although they are what the consumer purchases with their left brain thinking, their right-side thinking will keep them returning for the `soft` non tangible items a skilled designer provides. 

 The show was packed with the good and the great from Europe, and the opening ceremony was the usual wonderful ceremony in a way that only Italy can present, Regalia, more military uniforms and colours than I knew existed, with various shaped hats and gold braiding to demonstrate rank and importance, this was further embellished with a chest of medals and ribbons glistening on the proud chests of every rank and file who waited patiently for the arrival of the Minister of Tourism to endorse the importance of this annual event. The exhibition hall was built in 2001 and designed by German architects GMP of Hamburg and it is the most spectacular architecture and design for a conference centre I have seen throughout Europe. I love this venue, it is also the most inspiring show full of amazing manufacturers from all over Italy and with the true flair and desire to create and design, it is in the bones of almost every Italian to be creative in the simple things, from the way they dress, to the way they interact as a family unit to the respect for their elders and the manners and dress of every citizen, I do love Italy, and the world loves Italy, the show was brimming with boutique hotel owners looking out for designers for their projects, manufacturers looking for designers to specify their new collections and the Managers of hotel chains looking for new trends and colour as well as keeping their eye on the general market. Vanessa Brady Chairman of The Society was invited ad the special guest of AIpi the Italian counterpart organisation of Italy, Carlo Beltramelli is the new Board Director of the European Council of Interior Architects, the collective Country members who reach the highest level of competence are strenuously scrutinised to ensure the quality and reputation of the organisation founded in 1962 is retained. The Society of British Interior Design was elected as a full member after a presentation given by the Chairman Vanessa Brady in Helsinki in September. Mr Beltramelli introduced Brady at the opening ceremony. The show will have approximately 40,000 visitors over four days and is spread throughout ten halls.

 The Society of British Interior Design took a small delegation from across the Country.

Simon Bell of Archial Group PLC an international architectural practice that  has 17 UK offices and 7 more worldwide. Simon a member of  The Society of British Interior Design and  is currently the lead architect working on the remodelling of Harrogate International Centre (HIC). This £45 million pound multi-phased project is due to start on site next year and the practice has developed the designs over the last 3 years. Simon said `What an impressive exhibition and what an impressive venue!  I will definitely return and I will inform our seventeen offices throughout the UK about it. I am grateful to The Society for inviting me to join its delegation.`

Johnny Grey a kitchen designer with studios in New York, San Francisco and the UK also attended and said `the exhibitors are friendly and displays sophisticated and stylish. I found more well designed and quality products here in my three day visit than I expected, I am really impressed, having joined The Society of British Interior Design I was invited to attend SIA, I had not heard of this show in Britain before, I cant believe its been going for 59 years, Ill definitely return`

Was this show a success in such a bad economic climate? I have to say this was the best trade show I have been too in years, Italy has many amazing shows and we will be collaborating with SIA throughout the year ahead to make next year in collaboration with the show organisers, project managers and their Press Office the most successful show of all time.

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