Surfaces focus: what to look out for at this year’s Surfaces Design Show
Returning to London’s Business Design Centre this month, the three-day Surface Design Show will offer a huge range of exciting products, from veneers and solid surface materials to natural materials including limestone and chalk.
Surface Design Show 2015
When
10 - 12 February
Where
Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, London N1
For registration details and further information: surfacedesignshow.com
Among the 120 exhibitors at this year's event with intriguing and new products to show will be AJ Wells Architectural Enamellers, with VLAZE , a vitreous enamel. This is created by fusing powdered to steel by firing it at temperatures in excess of 800 deg C. The results are understandably hardwearing: it won't crack or discolour, is hygienic and requires little maintenance. It can be used not only for internal areas such as bathrooms and shower rooms, fireplaces, kitchen worktops and splash backs but also for external garden areas.
Showing too will be the Hex stone range, new for Blueprint Ceramics. It has a range of patchwork and patten effects with which basic modules can be combined create the desired colour combination. The palette was specifically designed to allow for infinite colour-pairing options, so specifiers shouldn't be short on inspiration.
Stucco Pompeji will be presenting its range of mineral wall coatings, handcrafted in Germany. These include Stucco Gesso, a thin-layered, mineral, solid-coloured alabaster marble plaster; Stucco, a solid-coloured, marble plaster; and Effetto Glassa, a plaster where the appearance of the walls changes depending on exposure to light and the angle it is viewed from. There are also a number of special effects possible, including a rust effect made with real iron pigments, 3D mouldings and Stucco metal - a paint finish available in steel, aluminium, copper and brass. It behaves like a real metal and can be used externally or internally for fireplaces and floors.
Other new launches come from RAK Ceramics, glazed stone from Lapyk, Fibraplast Lucent by Finsa, and a new acoustic panel called Forest by Decodesk Wall Cladding Products that comes in three levels of acoustics.
A preview evening featuring a live debate will take place on the opening evening, with the ever-popular Pecha Kucha, a fun and engaging presentation format, held the following evening. The last night will be given over to the Surface Design Awards, which recognise innovation in UK and international projects in areas including retail, commercial, housing and public building.
New for this year 's event is the Materials Speed Dating, held by specialist body the Materials Counci. This rapid-fire format aims at matching architects and specifiers with new surfaces and finishes. There will also be a special area dedicated to lighting, acknowledging the important interplay between light and surface and the stunning results that can be achieved in both interiors and exteriors.
Light School, presented by the Light Collective and the Institution of Lighting Professionals, Sponsored by iGuzzini, the area will feature new products plus live demos from lighting professionals. Global Colour Research will also return to the show with its Trend Wall and Colour Collaborations, a project showcasing colour and material trends for 2016, in collaboration with designer Giles Miller.
