First Ofitec Competition 2011: New trends in office furniture

One of the main novelties of this edition of The International Office Furniture and Equipment Trade Show is the OFITEC COMPETITION, which will reward unique work environment designs submitted by companies participating in the competition. An international panel, composed of prestigious names from the Architecture world such as Rafael de la Hoz Castanys, Teresa Sapey, Gabriel Allende and Jerome Michelangeli, will analyse the works submitted and select the winner from the four participating projects.

The office furniture industry will this year hold its tenth edition of The International Office Furniture and Equipment Trade Show, OFITEC 2011, the only Spanish event dedicated exclusively to this area of the economy. The event, organised by IFEMA, will bring together a total of 34 participating or represented companies on 25 - 28 October 2011 at the Feria de Madrid.

The fair offers a tour of the latest in office furniture and equipment and showcases the latest trends in high-end executive and office furniture, community furniture, occasional furniture, lighting, accessories and fittings, chairs and armchairs, floors and technical ceilings, partitions and modular partitions and signage. In short, an offering of particular interest to a wide range of professionals visiting the fair: architects, quantity surveyors, interior designers, decorators, distributors, purchasing managers and heads of Human Resources.

Trends that, according to the report on the design and consumption of habitat products by the Andalusian Technology Design Centre, Surgenia, are a result of the changes occurring in society and the creative efforts of the industry to adapt the work environment to the new demands of today (including the extension of the retirement age and the growing number of women in management positions - changes that affect our jobs). Also factors such as the reduction in the need for physical document storage due to increased digital archiving, the development of virtual meetings, the proliferation of modular systems (that save space and allow customisation according to needs) and the integration of work furniture in the home to facilitate work flexibility, adapting to new market trends.

Unique Features

One of the main novelties of this edition of The International Office Furniture and Equipment Trade Show is the OFITEC COMPETITION, which will reward unique work environment designs submitted by companies participating in the competition. An international panel, composed of prestigious names from the Architecture world such as Rafael de la Hoz Castanys, Teresa Sapey, Gabriel Allende and Jerome Michelangeli, will analyse the works submitted and select the winner from the four participating projects: Actiu and its Technology Park, located in the town of Castalla, Alicante; Guialmi, that is presenting two projects, the Blanquerna Foundation Library in Barcelona and the Criminal Courts building in Dublin; and Akaba, with the office chairs designed for the new offices of Aqualia, part of the FCC Group, in Madrid. The projects will be on display at the fair and the awards will be presented on 26 October, at 6pm.

Quim Larrea: The Amodo Design Process

The Architecture environment goes beyond the actual exhibition space to include a conference given (as part of the professional conference programme) by the famous architect and designer Quim Larrea, Director of the Andalusian Technology Design Centre, Surgenia, who will explain the “Amodo design process” (28 October, at the OFITEC Forum, Exhibition Hall 2, at the Feria de Madrid). He will talk about a new interactive mobile work station that is adapted to the users’ needs, including the needs of disabled persons and is a forerunner of what the office of the future may be.

Before this, on 25 October, conferences will be given on “The evolution of sustainability in the office”, by the Director off Energy and Sustainability at CBRE in Spain, Daniel Lázaro Rodrigo and “The deployment of offices in a changing environment” organised by the Spanish Association of Offices, AEO. The latter has two themes: “Workplace 2.0”, by Joaquina Garrido from Accenture, and “The New Model Microsoft Office: Workplace Advance (WPA)”, by Fernando Carneros, Real Estate & Facilities Manager.

OFITEC 2011 has the support of its Board of Trustees, FAMO, the Association of Furniture and General Office Equipment Manufacturers, a business association that focuses on Spain´s export capacity in this field. In 2010, the sector had exports to the value of 125 million euros, which is practically a third of total global turnover last year (354 million euros).