ISH in Frankfurt - Preliminary Report

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This year’s ISH trade fair provokes new trains of thought. It is necessary to emancipate the bathroom from its square past and turn it into a place of personal development and freedom, of course in due consideration of all energy-related standards. A guideline and a basis for discussion are again provided by the Guided Tours by World-Architects in cooperation with Stylepark.

Trade fair after trade fair one can be anxious and curious to find out the key themes the exhibition companies proclaim for their events. Of course, it must always involve a play on words, crisp terminologies and sentences with the quality of a catchy tune, which are often broken up into several trade fair mottos. This year’s BAU trade fair, for example, meanders around «Intelligent Urbanization», «People and Buildings» as well as «Energy and Resource Efficiency» – themes that in total cover almost all topics of the building industry. Trade fairs with a focus on certain areas of construction are slightly more direct and targeted. One example is the ISH, «The World’s Leading Trade Fair for The Bathroom Experience, Building Services, Energy, Air Conditioning Technology and Renewable Energies», which takes place every two years in Frankfurt on the Main. The guiding theme of this year’s event (there is always only one!) is «Comfort meets Technology». On the level below, three top themes describe what that means in more detail: «Energy Efficiency Plus», «Future Buildings» und «Interior + Technology – Design and Function in Harmony». A closer look at the description of these top themes is definitely worthwhile: there is talk of the multi-generational bathroom, demographic change, the efficient use of water as a resource, supply security and lifecycles of energy sources, renewable energies, wellbeing and comfort as well as networked home automation and energy efficiency. Currently, all of these are important and much discussed topics in the building industry – and that’s exactly why ISH is not only a trade fair for the sanitary and heating industry but a platform for all people involved in shaping the future as regards buildings.

What has this got to do with «Freedom» as indicated in the headline? When referring to the development in architecture: a whole lot. Currently, building services are following a development that is characterised by the highest possible level of automation and networking of all facilities and appliances. Thereby, people shall be freed from the «control» of one’s house and find time to actually live or work in it. In principle, this is not a bad idea, since it reminds us of the car industry where it will soon only be about being transported and no longer about driving. Some do not feel comfortable with this concept and so quite a number of people ask themselves how much technology a building can and may stand.

There is, no doubt, no general answer to this. Everyone should have the freedom to make a personal decision on how one’s building is technically equipped. The scope of this decision should range from energy production and distribution to energy consumption through to the configuration of the bathroom – all of them are important themes in the building industry. The architect and planner on his part must know what is feasible. The corresponding information is available at the 2015 ISH.

ISH Water, ISH Energy
As is usual, the trade fair is regarding its content divided into two areas, which are the perfect geographical result of the site plan in Frankfurt. The Halls 2 to 6 are located east of the S-Bahn tracks and present everything to do with the «ISH Water» theme. Here, exhibitors present their sustainable and design-oriented bathroom solutions and show the latest concepts and designs as well as current developments in sustainable technology. The presentations will, of course, be about the efficient use of water as a resource.

In the western part of the exhibition grounds (Halls 8 to 11), the «ISH Energy» area features building services and energy technologies, renewable energies as well as cooling, air-conditioning and ventilation technology. Here, the visitor gets to see the entire spectrum of building system technology. The discussion here will primarily revolve around the topics of the energy turnaround in the heating market, building in the future, holistic sustainability as well as technology trends.

The supporting programme
Apart from the 2,400 exhibitors, a veritable supporting programme on the guiding theme of «Comfort meets Technology» satisfies the great thirst for information. First of all, we recommend the «Pop um my Bathroom» trend forum in Hall 3.0, which is organised by the Association of the German Sanitation Industry (Vereinigung Deutsche Sanitärwirtschaft, VDS) for the fourth time. This year, the forum takes place under the motto of «Freibad». Of course, this title (a pun that refers to freedom in bathroom design and outdoor bathing) was chosen intentionally and shall provoke people to reflect. The part «Frei» (free) shall indeed be understood as an invitation for freedom, independence and enjoyment of life. The special show analyses the change of the bathroom in different phases of life: as a child, a single, in a family and as best-ager. How contemporary is our traditional notion of a bathroom against this background? How does modern bathroom design adapt to future ways of life and changing requirements? The «Pop um my Bathroom Atelier» lecture forum is integrated in this trend show and serves as a central meeting point.

Other special exhibitions are dedicated to other subjects, which are equally exciting for planners and architects: «wall + floor» (Hall 3.0) additionally includes the product ranges for floors and walls as well as creative furnishing ideas. The special exhibition «Valuable Water» (Hall 5.1, stand of the German Federal Association of Swimming Pools & Wellness (Bundesverband Schwimmbad & Wellness e.V. - bsw) is dedicated to topics relating to drinking water hygiene and heating safety. For the first time, the German Central Association of Sanitation, Heating and Air-Conditioning (Zentralverband Sanitär, Heizung, Klima - ZVSHK) presents the «Bathroom of the future» research project, which is conducted in collaboration with the Offenbach University of Art and Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung, Offenbach am Main). Design students developed new product ideas for existing bathrooms – in line with the philosophy of «Design for All», which will help people to live a long and self-determined life in their own homes.

In the ISH Energy area (on the western side), the Federal German Industrial Association for Building Services and Technical Installations (Bundesindustrieverband Technische Gebäudeausrüstung e.V. – BTGA) and the Federation of the German Machine and Plant Manufacturers (VDMA Fachverband Automation + Management für Haus + Gebäude) for the first time share a platform with the «Building Forum» (Hall 10.3), which will be about everything related to the energy turnaround in the real estate industry and building refurbishments. In the Galleria area between Halls 8 and 9, the Federal Association of the German House, Energy and Environmental Technology Industry (Bundesindustrieverband Deutschland Haus-, Energie- und Umwelttechnik e.V. – BDH) presents the «Technology and Energy Forum». Supporters of air-conditioning, cooling and ventilation technology will certainly make a find in the «Aircontec» area in the Halls 11.0, 11.1 and 10.2. In Hall 10.3, the BBR «Future Building» research initiative / Federal Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety present some of their results.

Information on the entire supporting programme as well as on the awards presented at the ISH are available at the ISH homepage under the heading “Events”.

Perfectly informed: exploring the trade fair halls purposefully with the Guided Tours
There is lots to see on the five days of the trade fair! Getting a sensible overview in advance would require several days of preparation. An easier way to do this is the Guided Tours by World-Architects.com, which are, of course, free for architects, interior architects, designers and planners. Seven guided tours of the trade fair will take place on the first four days of the event (namely Tuesday, 10 March to Friday, 13 March). Six of the seven tours are composed by renowned planners and personally conducted in the morning and in the afternoon; for the seventh tour on the Friday of the trade fair, Thomas Geuder (World-Architects) and Robert Vollhard (Stylepark) will guide the participants to the highlights at ISH.

Tour 1 : Tue 10 March, 11:00-13:00, Anna Philipp «Featuring Water»
Get-together : Tue 10 March, 13:00-13:30 «Bathroom design through demographic change»
Tour 2 : Tue 10 March, 15:00-17:00, P. Ippolito & G. Fleitz «From A to Z»
Tour 3 : Wed 11 March, 11:00-13:00, Réka Visnyei «The bathroom is changing»
Tour 4 : Wed 11 March, 15:00-17:00, S. Brandherm & S. Krumrey «Stylish and exciting solutions»
Tour 5 : Thu 12 March, 11:00-13:00, Julia Schneider «Cold clear water»
Tour 6 : Thu 12 March, 15:00-17:00, Markus Pfeil «Innovative, efficient and integrated products»
Tour 7 : Fri 13 March, 11:00-13:00, T. Geuder & R. Volhard «Highlights Tour»

Meeting points for all events is the Outlook-Lounge on the upper foyer level in Hall 4.2.

The ideal trade fair day …
… could not be more exciting and comfortable: arrive by 10:30 am and meet some colleagues and guides to exchange first ideas over a cup of coffee in the Outlook Lounge. Join the first Guided Tour from 11 am to 1 pm. Have a small lunch between 1 pm and 3 pm (also available in the Outlook Lounge), and participate in a second Guided Tour, which is, of course, different from the first one, from 3 pm to 5 pm. After your return, you still have more than one hour for individual talks and visits to stands before the trade fair closes at 6 pm. Gather plenty of information without stress: that’s how pleasant a day at the trade fair can be! tg