The WOOD LIFECYCLE exhibition puts wood in all its glory as a natural material on center stage at DOMOTEX 2019, the leading trade fair for floor coverings. Inspired by the trade fair's keynote theme, CREATE'N'CONNECT , leading Italian providers, including Tabu, Kerakoll, FE'S Alchemiclab and Celenit, are connecting with each other to stage a combined exhibition at the FRAMING TRENDS showcase that will highlight the strengths and potential of wood as a natural material. The overall exhibition is designed, developed and curated by Milan-based design firm Total Tool. The exhibition traces wood through its various lifecycle stages: from tree planting, growth and harvesting to timber processing and treatment to finished product and, finally, to recycled product. It focuses on the intrinsic value and versatility of wood as a natural material, and in doing so, uncovers innovative and inspiring new uses of wood for architects, interior architects and designers. Total Tool's creative director, Guilio Ceppi, is the design director and curator of the WOOD LIFECYCLE exhibition. His vision for the exhibition is to highlight and communicate the many connections that make up wood and which are fundamental to its future as a material. That is why he chose to showcase the entire wood lifecycle.

Trendsetters presenting innovative, pioneering products in wood

The WOOD LIFECYCLE exhibition comprises multiple exhibits that illustrate particular characteristics, applications and qualities of wood as a material. The participating companies will showcase a range of on-trend products such as flooring and wall panels made of wood, as examples of the various stages of the wood production and supply chain. The exhibition includes interactive stations where visitors can learn about the latest technologies and creative approaches that are shaping the way wood is used. The WOOD LIFECYCLE exhibition is also a research and development platform that explores key industry trends, such as product individualization and hybridization, environmental protection and sustainability, energy efficiency and innovative material use.

Focusing on the entire wood value chain: ecological importance

As an architect, designer and professor of design strategy, Guilio Ceppi particularly values wood as a material because of its "incredibly diverse range of types, grain patterns, colors and dimensions." This diversity, he says, gives architects and designers a wide range of choices for realizing their projects. "For flooring, there are very few other materials that offer a similar wealth of possibilities." He sees digitization as a key part of this. In many different ways, digitization is helping people realize individualized designs in wood. For instance, at the planning stage, customers can use online platforms to select their preferred products and keep track of quantities and costs in real-time; and at the production stage, technologies such as digital printing offer ample scope for personalized design. Ceppi: "Digitization is bringing innovation to the entire wood value chain. One of the fundamental challenges for architecture and interior architecture – if we want to safeguard the future our planet – is to address the entire lifecycle of products and, indeed, of whole building projects."

Major highlights like the WOOD LIFECYCLE exhibition will make the FRAMING TRENDS showcase an absolute magnet for architects, designers and influencers at DOMOTEX 2019. The 2019 keynote theme, CREATE'N'CONNECT, explores the connectivity trend from multiple perspectives. The firms participating at the WOOD LIFECYCLE exhibition will give expression to this by banding together to present products for the innovative use of wood.