Office Next Moscow 2012 final report: 40% more visitors than last year

OWP Ost-West-Partner and OfficeNEXT put on another edition of Office Next Moscow, the International Forum for Office Design, Technology and Real Estate, which took place in Moscow for the third time in a row from 15th - 17th May 2012. The event is based on three pillars: TRENDS - the exhibition, TALKS - the conference, and AWARDS - the competition for the best office design projects. Thus, Office Next Moscow goes beyond the format of a traditional trade show as a merchandising venue.

Visitor and exhibitor numbers

With over 2,800 visitors, an increase of about 40% compared to 2011, the expectations from both the exhibitors and the organizers were clearly exceeded. Among the audience were primarily top managers from the real estate and construction industry, architects and interior designers, buyers, sales and marketing directors. There are also positives to report regarding the number of exhibitors on show: With 40 exhibitors, including 18 Russian and 22 international, the event was much larger and more attractive than in 2011. Companies from 10 different countries presented their products at Office Next Moscow this year. The event and conference space amounted to more than 3,000 square meters.

“Moscow is not only the pivotal point of Russian business, but it is also the center of innovation in the country. And right here is where the office design, technology and real estate industries, the main themes of Office Next Moscow, meet. We are very pleased with the results of this year's event. The number of exhibitors and visitors has increased considerably compared to last year, which indicates a rapid development of the Russian market. These are ideal conditions for further developing the concept Office Next Moscow in the future“, states Bernd Fichtner, managing director of OWP Ost-West-Partner GmbH, who organizes Office Next Moscow in cooperation with OfficeNEXT.

Attractive event location with loft style

Not only does the tripartite event structure distinguish Office Next Moscow from other trade shows, but the choice of the event location, Moscow's creative cluster Artplay, makes it stand out from trade fairs in the traditional sense. The rooms of the former manometer factory with loft style character convey a special charm, which allows exhibitors to showcase their products in a stylish setting. Visitors can experience the contrast between old and new through the open space exhibition concept with a transparent and open form of presentation. This also emphasizes the design quality of the exhibits.

The exhibition area “Trend Zone” was a new project of this year's Office Next Moscow, which was specially designed by an architect. He developed a lounge area through the interplay of 9 companies with diverse products from furniture, lighting, sound insulation and partition systems, to wall claddings and office plants. The area extended over the entire gallery of the conference hall.

Extensive conference program

Many visitors of the two-day conference on 15th and 16th May benefited from nearly 30 lectures, workshops, panel discussions and presentations. Over 60 Russian and international speakers, including, for instance, Mark Catchlove, Director of Insight Group-EMEA at Herman Miller, and Gale Moutrey, Vice President of Brand Communications at Steelcase, inspired the audience with their knowledge on the development of real estate in Moscow and the Moscow regions, new design trends for offices, effective design of office spaces and much more.

Awards ceremony 2012

On the last day of the event, around 800 guests celebrated the winners of the Best Office Awards for the Grand Prix and 11 other categories. An international jury, composed of high-ranking experts, voted on almost 100 submitted projects. The competition is announced every year within the framework of Office Next Moscow. The winner of the Grand Prix 2012 is the VTB Bank office in Moscow, designed by architects SPEECH Choban & Kuznetsov. The winners in the other categories are various office projects of large companies and architect studios from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the office of the National Olympic Committee of Georgia in Tbilisi.

Office Trend Book 2012

This year's event also celebrated the first edition of the Office Trend Book. The magazine provides a comprehensive overview of office interior design and office real estate in Russia, and it contains a short presentation of all event exhibitors and other participants. The 177-page work also shows a selection of entries that have been submitted to the competition, and includes a large list of companies operating in the field of office furnishing or design in the Russian market.

Visit the Office Next Moscow website