More than 400 design professionals, interior architecture and entrepreneurs from the hotel and retail industries gathered at the first edition of BBMeetings, a forum organised by BBConstrumat, within the framework of Madrid Architecture Week, and the second Swimming Pool and Wellness Forum, organised by the Swimming Pool & Wellness Fair and the Spanish Association of Swimming Pool Professionals (ASOFAP), which took place on 4 and 5 October in Madrid. The attendees, professionals from both sectors, were able to benefit from the synergies that emerged in the two forums, which have proved to be a great success and which will continue in the future.
With collaboration from the College of Decorators and Interior Designers of Catalonia and the General Council of Official Associations of Interior Decorators and Designers and sponsored by Ignia Green and de Jung, the two fairs, which had more than 20 speakers, highlighted the importance of innovation, creativity and digitalization as main levers of change. In this regard, the president of BBConstrumat, Ana Vallés, noted in her opening speech that “since 2015, BBConstrumat has been based on innovation as one of its hallmarks” and that the joint holding of BBMeetings with the Swimming Pool & Wellness Forum was “a great initiative to open up new business opportunities for professionals in the construction sector“.
BBConstrumat is the leading national platform in the fields of architecture and construction, being the only one that brings together and represents the entire value chain as was highlighted in March when representatives of the main associations and professional associations met in the PLANT facilities, a project driven by Sorigué and its foundation in Balaguer (Lleida), to reach an agreement on the drafting of a Manifesto in support of BBConstrumat.
The first day of BBMeetings, on the 4th, was entitled ‘When business meets design’ and it highlighted the need for designs to be respectful of the natural environment in the refurbishment of historic buildings for hotel use as is the case of the Paradores, while, urban hotels lose value for the benefit of common spaces, which are the spaces where the guests get their experiences.
On the second day, on the 5th, Tools or Roots? discussed how new technologies and new materials are a great opportunity for the hotel business, that sustainability is a universal trend and not a fad, and that innovation is an obligation.
The Fira de Barcelona Business Unit Director for Architecture and Construction, Josep Jonàs, presented the next edition of BBConstrumat 2019 which will have innovation as the main theme, and the chairperson of the governing board of the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM), Patricia Fernández, announced a collaboration agreement between the fair and the professional association.
BBMeetings is the latest event organised as a foretaste of BBConstrumat. Before the Madrid event, the BBFuture cycle of conferences took place co-organized together with the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture and BBTalks, a conference on the impact of innovation on today’s cities.