The 15th edition of interihotel, hosted this year at Fira Barcelona Gran Via, will take place from 21 to 23 October. The event – organised by AMBIT Living Spaces Cluster – confirms its key role in the hospitality design sector as a space for connecting ideas, cultures and business models, attracting over 10,000 professionals. It is characterised by a focus on dialogue and design culture: the event takes the form of a conference with more than 180 speakers, creating a hub of innovation and trends in the form of conferences, Concept Rooms and idea workshops, awards and business.
The theme of this edition will be “The Power of Encounters”, a focus that aims to highlight the transformative value of encounters in hospitality design, bringing together hotel companies, catering groups, property investors and interior design and architecture firms specialising in hotel and restaurant design in search of the latest trends and innovative solutions for the sector. “Hospitality design takes shape when ideas intersect,” explain the fair organisers, “when creativity meets experience and vision transforms materials into meaningful spaces. It is in these connections that something new is born. interihotel celebrates those moments of exchange that inspire change, the conversations that chart a course, because it is at interihotel that connections happen”.
The conference will focus on three hot topics in the sector: ‘Cultural Encounters’ on 21 October, exploring the role of design in preserving the identity of a destination and reinterpreting traditions; ‘Sustainable Encounters’ on 22 October, which will examine how design, materials and strategies can generate a positive environmental and social impact, promoting a more conscious and responsible sector; and ‘The Business of Encounters’ on 23 October, which will analyse how collaborations between designers, hoteliers and investors are redefining business models, generating new standards and new opportunities.
Numerous prominent names will participate in the talks. Tom Dixon, Space Copenhagen, Andrés Reisinger, We Are Ona, Álvaro Catalán de Ocón, Javier Plazas, B720, Mesura, Ricard Trenchs, Astet Studio, Núria Moliner and many others are expected to attend.
Among the leading architecture firms is ILV*, which has designed one of the Concept Rooms: its “Mindful Explorer Concept Room” is an exclusive and sophisticated room that also promotes a sense of belonging through local art and craftsmanship.
Meanwhile, PhiBa Architecture has designed the “Nomad’s Concept Terrace“, a modular system centred around an unconventional bar, inspired by the fluidity of tree houses to create different spatial experiences and unexpected ways of interacting.
In parallel with interihotel, interi-off, the ‘off-site’ programme, takes centre stage to bring the debate on design into the urban fabric and facilitate direct exchange between professionals in real environments.
