06.01.2010 News: One year before the start of Bau 2011, almost all the 180,000 m² of exhibition space is booked

Demand for space at Bau from companies from Germany and around the world is stronger than ever before. Already, a full year before the fair gets under way, almost all the 180,000 square metres of indoor exhibition space earmarked for the event is accounted for. Bau 2011, taking place between 17 and 22 January at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre, is therefore virtually fully booked. Once again over 1,900 exhibitors from 40 countries will be coming to this 'The World´s Leading Trade Fair for Architecture, Materials, Systems' to showcase their products and services. The exhibition management expects over 210,000 visitors from around 150 countries to attend.

Even for Bau, having the space in all 17 exhibition halls almost fully taken, is quite unusual. "Compared to the run-up to Bau 2009, we are almost three months ahead in terms of number of applications received," said Exhibition Manager Markus Geisenberger. "Many companies, in particular from abroad, have booked very early this time to secure a space at Bau." Nevertheless, Geisenberger advises companies that have not booked but still want to take part in Bau 2011, to send in their applications (download from: www.bau-muenchen.com). Because: "Experience has shown that in the months before a fair starts, there are a number of cancellations and some shuffling of space, so some gaps do come up."

Market leaders in all areas of the exhibition

The goal of the exhibition team is to gather together all the global market leaders in each of the sections of the exhibition. And, according to the Exhibition Director, "we have already more or less achieved just that." In these terms BAU really is virtually unmatched anywhere else in the world. On the visitor side, too, Bau has reached new heights: in 2009 it set a new record for visitor numbers – 212,000 of them came from 151 countries to attend the fair. The full spectrum of building and construction professionals come along to this event, in short anyone involved in the industry – planners, architects, building companies, tradesmen and facility managers, from Germany and around the world. Spanning all the building trades, this display of materials and architecture is an important meeting point for investors, planners, building suppliers and the building trades. BAU brings together all those involved in the construction process chain. Planners, architects and construction engineers in particular value this event highly as an information and communication platform. Often this trade fair is where decisions are made on what material is used and where.

With its new positioning as a leading world fair, Bau is pushing ahead with boosting its international profile. The goals are ambitious: One in four exhibitors and over 40,000 visitors to come from abroad. With this in mind the international marketing activities for Bau have been stepped up considerably.

Exhibition sections

Bau 2011 will take up the entire indoor exhibition space at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre: 17 halls providing 180,000 square metres of space. The sections cover the entire bandwidth of planning, architecture and construction. The individual sections are structured according to building materials, products and themes (see also press release no. 5). A plan of the grounds of Bau 2011 and a programme is available online at www.bau-muenchen.com.

Main themes

What are the hot topics currently dominating debate in the field of architecture and construction? And which of them are critical for the future of the building industry? Bau 2011 will be highlighting selected themes – in the forums at the fair and in special displays. Specific solutions in these areas will also be presented at the stands of the exhibitors.

Sustainable building: the all-round approach. Sustainable buildings must be cost-effective, environmentally friendly and resource-efficient. They must be comfortable for the users, promoting their wellbeing and health, and should also integrate well into their socio-cultural environment.

Universal design: designing, constructing and fitting out buildings, housing and an environment that is suitable for all people, with or without handicap, large or small, young or old, enabling all to live independently, safely and in comfort.

Renovation, modernisation and refurbishment accounts for a large part of the turnover of many building firms. In Germany alone already around 60 percent of total investment in housing construction is in R&M work.

Forums – Bau plus!

In addition to the presentations put on by the exhibitors Bau is again organising an exclusive, top-class fringe programme in 2011. Bau Plus! – this is the motto under which all those things that proved successful in 2009 will be continued in 2011. Visitors have a choice of three forums, each featuring top experts and industry representatives, at which to gather valuable information. These forums are all positioned right in the heart of the fair, and access to them is free for all participants.

In the forum 'Future of Building' respected planners, architects and construction engineers from all over the world will be explaining, using project examples, what lies in store for the future.

The forum 'MacroArchitecture' turns the spotlight on the role of architects now and in the future. In the mornings architects and company representatives will present joint projects. In the afternoons a 'trend panel' will reveal the results of interdisciplinary basic research. The aim will be to see what consequences mega-trends such as sustainability and digitalisation will have in the future on architecture, products and processes.

Modernisation and Maintenance of buildings is an area in which many firms in Germany and abroad now make a large part of their earnings. For this reason, a separate forum is again being dedicated to this theme.

Special shows

The main themes at Bau will be explored in special shows. Here visitors can find out about the latest results of research and development and get an overview of what challenges are still to be faced.

In the special show on 'Intelligent Building', the Fraunhofer-Allianz Bau will be presenting innovative technologies emerging from building research. Using examples of great relevance to building practice, the 16 member institutes in this alliance will be outlining new technologies, product and system solutions for housing and commercial property.

Just how buildings are designed and constructed along the principles of sustainability, will be illustrated at Bau 2011 using the example of entries to the 'Solar Decathlon Europe 2010' competition. Four buildings, designed by teams at German universities, will be presented for the first time to a broad trade audience at Bau 2011.

Universal design: Just what this means and what product innovations are available will be shown at Bau in cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gerontotechnik (GGT).

At the special show 'Sustainable for the future' the ift Rosenheim and leading manufacturers will be presenting high-performance and innovative windows and façades for use in sustainable building and energy-plus housing. They will also be pointing out the performance values and certificates that are of particular relevance to investment decisions.

Visitor target groups

The broad range on show at Bau 2011 is tailored to suit the various visitor target groups.

> Planners: Architects, engineers, energy consultants, interior designers, landscape architects, local and national building authorities, structural engineers

> Investors: Housing associations, private and local authority developers, real-estate managers, fund managers, agents, retailers/retail chains, facility managers

> Building trades: Awnings/blinds fitters, bricklayers, carpenters, concrete specialists, dry wallers, façade fitters, fitters, flooring fitters, glaziers, heating engineers, insulation fitters (thermal, sound), joiners, landscape gardeners, metalworkers, painters, parquet flooring fitters, plasterers, plumbers, roofers, shopfitters, solar technology specialists, tilers, window/glass façade fitters

> Building materials trade: building material suppliers, DIY stores, other retail

> Research, further education: Universities, research institutes, master craftsmen colleges and trade schools

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