A special year for Valencia in 2022, as the city becomes the World Design Capital, a global focal point for design and innovation. Once again, this edition of Feria Hábitat Valencia from 20 to 23 September promises to be particularly interesting.
Where the numbers are concerned, this is the only large European fair to report growth after the pandemic: the initiative on décor and lighting will host 600 exhibitors, with 18% hailing from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Turkey, in an area of 70,000 square meters on two levels.
Another new development is the fact that Feria Hábitat Valencia takes place in coordination with two other major events related to the interior design industry, for a total of almost 1,000 exhibitors: at the same location, visitors can also see Espacio Cocina SICI, on kitchens, and Home Textiles Premium of Textilhogar, returning to Valencia after being held for 5 years in Madrid.
The events organized for this extraordinary edition will include the WDC Forum, a series of daily conferences at the fair facility. The themes range from contemporary design culture to the contract sector and strategies of digitalization. Speakers, among other international experts, will include the Italian designer Monica Armani, the Mexican architect Juan Carlos Baumgartner, the group Innodesign and the university researcher Marisa Santamaría.
On 21 and 22 September, the Events Center of Hábitat hosts the International Design Forum (Foro Internacional de Diseño Interior, FIDI), concentrating on design as a tool to improve the health and the lives of people.
Here too the debate promises to be stimulating, thanks to the interaction of various professional roles: paleontologist Juan Luis Arsuaga, psychiatrist Luis Rojas Marcos, writer and journalist Juan José Millás, journalist and art historian Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, the architect Juli Capella, neurobiologist Mara Dierssen, the professor of medicine at the University of Valencia Medical School Ana Lluch, and the architect Benedetta Tagliabue.
Finally, the intensive program is completed by an exhibition-tribute to the designers Vicent Martínez and Jaime Hayón at CCCC, Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània of Valencia, and the experimental section Nude, on young creative talents in Spain.
