"CREATE'N'CONNECT" – the keynote theme of DOMOTEX, which next takes place in Hannover from 11–14 January 2019 – puts the focus on the mega trend connectivity. The "TALKS" program element in Hall 9, staged between the various "FRAMING TRENDS" display modules, will feature internationally renowned professionals such as designer Sebastian Herkner and the architect Ester Bruzkus speaking about the connections between architecture, interior design and product design. On each of the four days of the trade fair top-name architects, planners and designers, along with some interesting new talents, will contribute to the "Talks" program and present innovative projects and fresh new ideas that illustrate the key role of flooring in interior design. After their presentations these experts will exchange their personal views and ideas with the audience in a chaired "MEET&GREET" round of discussions.

For example, on the Friday of the event one of the best-known German product designers, Sebastian Herkner, will speak on the topic of connectivity in relation to design and in particular how it facilitates new innovative possibilities in flooring design. Herkner's product designs and furniture have created a buzz at trade fairs around the world and his work is celebrated for the way in which he marries various cultural references with new techniques and traditional crafts and manufacture.

Lyrical room compositions and unusual combinations of colour and materials characterize the style of architect and interior designer Ester Bruzkus. The Berlin-based trend-setter will be speaking on Saturday about the role of design in creating an architectonic whole. A total of nine speakers will contribute to the trend-oriented Talks. In addition, a selection of universities will be involved in the "NuThinkers" section of the Framing Trends modules, in which students will present their semester project work on the topic "The Future of Flooring". On the final day, Monday, the projects will be introduced in four separate talks.

At the close of each of the talks there will be a new type of "MEET&GREET" session in which the respective speakers, as well as participating representatives from industry and commerce, can meet informally with the audience. This provides a good opportunity for knowledge transfer and productive networking.

Before and after the Talks iconic architects and designers take visitors who are eager to learn more on "GUIDED TOURS" to their personal favorites and highlight exhibits at DOMOTEX. These daily tours provide participants with a more intimate understanding and an insider view of selected products that reflect the keynote theme. They are also an additional opportunities to meet exhibitors.

TALKS and GUIDED TOURS
with architects and designers from around the world

The Talks program runs daily from Friday to Monday between 1.00 and 2.30 p.m. and includes introductory talks and moderation on aspects of the keynote theme. "MEET&GREET" sessions held afterwards from 2.30-3.00 p.m. enable visitors to chat with the speakers in person.

Friday, 11 January 2019
TALK I: CONNECTED BY TECHNOLOGY

... a trend that influences cross-disciplinary cooperation, collaboration on creative planning and innovative manufacturing and design processes to produce exceptional floor coverings.

Topics: New technology, digital architecture, prototyping, smart engineering, smart materials, smart living, digital design.

Introductory talk 1: "Smart Structures", Martin Tamke, Associate Professor, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Copenhagen) – (English)
Introductory talk 2: "The flow of communication", Tim Edler, realities:united (Berlin)
Introductory talk 3: "Made in Offenbach", Sebastian Herkner, Studio Sebastian Herkner (Offenbach am Main)

Moderation: Franziska Eidner (EINSATEAM)

Saturday, 12 January 2019
TALK II: CONNECTED TO NEW SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PATTERNS

... from aesthetically sophisticated cross-over design and imaginatively configured flooring to new, experimental perceptions of rooms and space.

Topics: Fusion architecture, cross-over design, mix-n-match materials, new typologies.

Introductory talk 1: "Berliner Fusion", Ester Bruzkus, Ester Bruzkus Architekten (Berlin)
Introductory talk 2: "Making Things Happen", Louis Schulz, Assemble Studio (London) – (English)
Introductory talk 3: "Deconstruction", Maarten Gielen, ROTOR Architects (Brussels) – (English)

Moderation: May-Britt Frank-Grosse (design journalist)

Sunday, 13 January 2019
TALK III: CONNECTED THROUGH EMOTIONS

... from alpine cabins breathtakingly perched on the mountainside to shared experiences of communality and familiar materials used in surprising ways.

Topics: Spatial experiences, new values, mindfulness, tradition, security, community, social impact, home environments.

Introductory talk 1: "Inspiring Limits", Špela Videcnik, OFIS Architects (Ljubljana) – (English)
Introductory talk 2: "Changing Perspectives", Thomas Burlon, Brandlhuber+ (Berlin)
Introductory talk 3: "Concrete Poetry", Katrin Greiling, Studio Greiling (Berlin)

Moderation: Jasmin Jouhar (design journalist)

Monday, 14 January 2019
TALK IV: NU'THINKER STAGE

Students from four universities – today's Nu'Thinkers – will present the innovative results of their semester projects on the Future of Flooring.

Introductory talk 1: Moderation Franziska Eidner, EINSATEAM (Berlin)
Introductory talk 2: Moderation May-Britt Frank-Grosse, Text & Kommunikation (Berlin)
Introductory talk 3: Moderation Jasmin Jouhar, design journalist (Berlin)
Introductory talk 4: Jeannette Merker, EINSATEAM (Berlin)

GUIDED TOURS:
Personal views of the DOMOTEX highlights

Renowned architects and designers offer an insight into their own views on the keynote theme CREATE'N'CONNECT and selected exhibitors/products in the context of the Guided Tours. These tours are held twice daily, starting at 10.00 a.m. and 3.15 p.m. Each tour takes approx. two hours.

Friday, 11 January 2019, 10.00 a.m. – 12.00 noon (German)
Guided Tour #01: Susanne Schmidhuber
SCHMIDHUBER (Munich) www.schmidhuber.de

Friday, 11 January 2019, 3.15 – 5.15 p.m. (English)
Guided Tour #02: Hendrik Müller
einszu33 (München) www.einszu33.com

Saturday, 12 January 2019, 10.00 a.m. – 12.00 noon (English)
Guided Tour #03: Prof. Peter Greenberg, Associated Professor, Wentworth Institute of Technology, architect, partner of Ester Bruzkus Architekten (Berlin) www.esterbruzkus.com

Saturday, 12 January 2019, 3.15 – 5.15 p.m. (German)
Guided Tour #04: Dr. Marina-Elena Wachs
Marina-Elena Wachs – Material & Design (Braunschweig) www.marinawachs.de

Sunday, 13 January 2019, 10.00 a.m. – 12.00 noon (English)
Guided Tour #05: Martina Metzner
abaut – editorial office for design and architecture (Frankfurt am Main) www.abaut.net

Sunday, 13 January 2019, 3.15 – 5.15 p.m. (German)
Guided Tour #06: Roland Bondzio & Petra Wollenberg
behet bondzio lin architekten (Münster) www.2bxl.com
lwa Leyk Wollenberg architect (Leipzig) www.lwarchitects.eu

Monday, 14 January 2019, 10.00 a.m. – 12.00 noon (German)
Guided Tour #07: Polina Goldberg
Tchoban Voss architect (Berlin) www.tchobanvoss.de

Monday, 14 January 2019, 3.15 – 5.15 p.m. (German)
Guided Tour #08: NuThinkers
Young designers

The trend towards networking is of great significance in the field of flooring design. The special display "Framing Trends" at the world's leading trade fair for floor coverings forms the international communication hub for professionals in this sector. It offers an unique platform for inspiring talks and discussions with internationally acclaimed experts around the keynote theme CREATE'N'CONNECT. This program is complemented by Guided Tours led by well-known designers and architects who present their personal favorites chosen from the trade fair highlights.

DOMOTEX 2019
11-14 January (Fri.- Mon.)
Hannover Exhibition Center,
Hannover, Germany
www.domotex.de

Biographical details of speakers:

Talk I

Martin Tamke, Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Copenhagen)
Martin Tamke has led the Centre for Information Technology and Architecture (CITA) in Copenhagen since its inception in 2006. The prime focus of his research has been the interplay of computer-aided design and architecture for example, the use of innovative digital design and fabrication techniques in the processing of wood and fibrous materials. To date the 40m long Isoropia installation for the Danish pavilion at the 2018 Architecture Biennale in Venice is the largest project to have been realized using the ingenious membrane structure developed in the course of this research. As a co-founder of the InnoChain ETN network Tamke has demonstrated the value of collaboration between academia, planning ateliers and companies.
www.kadk.dk
www.innochain.net

Tim Edler, realities:united (Berlin)
The brothers Jan and Tim Edler are co-founders of the interdisciplinary " Kunst und Technik" team in Berlin (1997-2000). In 2000 they set up "realities:united" as a "studio for art and architecture". Their involvement in the planning and realization of art installations and hybrid art projects in urban environments for example, the concept for the light and media facade of the Kunsthaus Graz helped forge their international reputation. Since then they have been engaged all over the world as media artists on diverse construction projects. One of these was the Futurium in Berlin for which realities:united developed a sensor-controlled lighting installation that registers and tracks visitor footfall and follows individual visitors, accompanying them around the building.
www.realities-united.com

Sebastian Herkner, Studio Sebastian Herkner (Offenbach am Main)
Since the foundation of his design studio in 2006 Sebastian Herkner has been creating products for prestigious manufacturers such as Cappellini, ClassiCon, Dedon, Fontana Arte, Moroso, Pulpo, Thonet and Wittmann, for which he has received many design awards. At the same time he has worked on interior architectural projects, for museums and on various exhibition projects. Herkner studied product design at the University of Art and Design in Offenbach (HfG Offenbach am Main) and it was here that he began to explore how different cultural references could be incorporated in the design of artefacts and furniture and focus on the interaction of traditional handcrafts with new technology. Since his student days he has been interested in exploiting the characteristic properties of materials and emphasizing the finest detail.
www.sebastianherkner.com

Talk II

Ester Bruzkus, Ester Bruzkus Architekten (Berlin)
In 2002 the company Ester Bruzkus Architekten was set up in Berlin. From the outset it had an international orientation with the focus on architecture and interior design. In the meantime it has clients – and endorsements – from across the world, including Berlin, Tel Aviv, Paris, Boston, Dubai, Moscow and Vladivostok. Bruzkus and her team design furniture, living and work spaces, as well as commercial public buildings such as theatres, restaurants and hotels. The bold, unusual combination of colors, textures and materials and narrative spaces typify her idiosyncratic style of fusion architecture.
www.esterbruzkus.com

Louis Schulz, Assemble Studio (London)
As one of the original members of Assemble, a multidisciplinary architecture and design studio, Louis Schulz shares a very pragmatic approach to creating and improving urban spaces, whereby the emphasis is on active community involvement. It was the community-led focus of Assemble in the neighbourhood projects in the Granby area of Liverpool that won them the prestigious Turner art prize in 2015. For the main pavilion of the 2018 Architecture Biennale in Venice Assemble collaborated with the tile manufacturer Granby Workshop to create "The Factory Floor", an installation made of 8,000 ceramic tiles.
www.assemblestudio.co.uk

Maarten Gielen, ROTOR Architects (Brussels)
Rotor was founded in 2005 as an architectural collective with a multidisciplinary and socially aware approach to design. A core team of around a dozen have been involved in the collective ever since. The team uses research, experimentation and curatorial methods to promote and extend the upcycling and recycling of materials in a new, aesthetically sophisticated context. An additional network of freelancers now realizes the collective's projects. Rotor is engaged in the areas of architecture and interior design, creating innovative models for economic and political solutions, as well as publishing books and taking part in exhibitions.
www.rotordb.org

Talk III

Špela Videcnik, OFIS Architects (Ljubljana)
Slovenian architect Špela Videcnik founded OFIS Architects in 1997 and is an executive partner. Her core areas are the management and coordination of architectural projects and town planning, urban development, interior architecture and landscape planning Videcnik has realized many buildings in her native Slovenia, as well as projects in Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Spain. A focus of this work has been the use of traditional building materials and respect for the local context and immediate environment. Her work has received numerous architecture awards. Since 2012 Špela Videcnik has also been a visiting professor in design at Harvard University, Boston.
www.ofis-a.si

Thomas Burlon, Brandlhuber+ (Berlin)
Thomas Burlon studied architecture at the Technical University of Dresden and the RWTH Aachen. He has been a partner of Brandlhuber+ in Berlin since 2011. This company specializes in the conversion, remodelling, preservation and extension of existing buildings. Since 2013 Burlon has also run his own parallel architecture practice: schneideroelsen. From 2014-2015 Burlon taught at the Technical University of Berlin and has been invited as a guest critic and speaker by numerous other colleges and universities. His key interests include the redesignated use, refit and reinvention of existing structures, the regeneration of urban spaces and the non-specific use of building typologies.
www.brandlhuber.com

Katrin Greiling, Studio Greiling (Berlin)
Katrin Greiling studied furniture design and interior architecture in Stockholm. Since 2005 she has curated and designed exhibitions and has worked as an art director and photographer. Greiling is also a professor for product and interior design at the Saar University of the Fine Arts (HBK Saar). Her methodology and the functionalist, yet poetic, aesthetic evident in her work reflect her Swedish education in design and many years of experience of work in the Emirate of Dubai. In 2018 she presented her vibrantly colorful installation "Structures" – a collaboration with Kinnasand LAB – in the latter's Milan showrooms. In this project rugs were displayed counter-intuitively on raised surfaces and not on the floor, thus permitting a more tactile experience.
www.studiogreiling.com

Talk IV (Moderators)

Franziska Eidner, EINSATEAM (Berlin)
As a journalist and cultural anthropologist Franziska Eidner is intrigued by the cross-over of architecture, design and urban planning. She attaches great importance to good narratives and quality editorial content. Her passion is journalism and this – informed by her specialist knowledge – is conveyed in her work on the Architecture Biennale, the IBA and the Bauhaus anniversary, as in all her activities as a freelance writer, publisher or as editor in chief of Bauhaus magazine and other print and online magazines.
www.einsateam.de

May-Britt Frank-Grosse, Text & Kommunikation (Berlin)
Since 2016 May-Britt Frank-Grosse has been a freelance journalist and editor of ART AUREA, a print magazine and online platform for the culture of things, art, crafts and design. Prior to this she was chief editor of Designlines – Online Magazine for Interior and Product Design – published by BauNetz Media. Frank-Grosse also works on PR activities for studios and projects associated with architecture, construction and design.

Jasmin Jouhar, freelance design journalist (Berlin)
Jasmin Jouhar is an author and freelance writer and editor, specializing in the fields of architecture and design. She contributes to such publications as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, AIT, Baunetz, DEAR, Ideat and Häuser. Jouhar lives with her family in Berlin.

Jeannette Merker, EINSATEAM (Berlin)
After having studied architecture in Berlin, Cottbus and Milan, Jeannette Merker specialized in the field of architecture communication. She now develops communication strategies and event formats for companies, local authorities, communities and associations. Merker is also engaged in other areas such as moderating events and holding talks and lectures in which she shares her know-how with students and newcomers to the field. From 2009 to 2015 she was a scientific associate in the Department for the Communication of Architecture at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT). She currently works at the University of Rosenheim in the visual communication faculty.
www.einsateam.de