The high expectations were amply fulfilled and the fringe manifestations and the seminar program also turned out to be a bull’s eye. Certainly the seminars can count on interest without exception. “It is the best proof that the content was perfectly tailored to the needs of the visiting public”, the organization says. “Because the ‘proof of the pudding in the eating’ is, we surveyed a lot of exhibitors and visitors for two days. From their comments, only one thing can be concluded: the first edition of [email protected] Brussels has been looking for more.”

Exhibitors speak

The organization starts with a number of exhibitors who were there for the very first time. For example, she visited the very young Prado, which introduced light + motion, the world’s spot with an invisible PIR sensor: “The interest was enormous, it was a constant commitment to visitors,” says Hanne Dewaele. “We saw a lot of architects and other interests, who do have an eye for our light + motion. They can also propose because of the special sockets that we can propose now that Rond also put the same proposals.”

At Decoline, men put ‘Decoline hidden by Blindspace’ in the spotlight. Here men presented boxes to work in for roller blinds with a visual impact. Sales director Philippe Bonneel and service & training manager Ward Frooninckx: “We are here for the very first time and that to enthuse architects for our solutions, which can be operated both electrically and manually. The interest was particularly good on the second day, the number of leads is certainly much higher than we had expected. This part was a special decision!”

Invictus was also present with its LVT floors in herringbone and with a one-plank click system. Invictus (Associated Weavers) was first registered in the UK and has now embarked on a conquest of the mainland. Nathan Desmet: “We launched Invictus in 2019 in the UK, now we’re putting it in the spotlight here for the very first time. I also visited the [email protected] edition in Kortrijk last year and it was clear that we were not missing the meeting in Brussels. In any case, we complete a lot of work from our presentation, if you focus on architects, you better be creative.”

At the companies that have already had several editions of [email protected], men are even sounding enthusiastic. For example, we stop at Renson Ventilation & Sunprotection, where the organizers spoke with Matthias Van Herreweghe: “You see us at all editions of [email protected] We could not miss in Brussels, because we are very strongly anchored in the Belgian architect. One of our intentions was to open the gates to the Walloon architect.”

Rheinzink presented a frameless solar panel with a specially designed standing seam mounting clamp. “Rheinzink is the most important zinc manufacturer in Germany, for whom cradle-to-cradle is very important”, say Patrick Meert and Fabrice Michaux. “We have noticed that there is a lot of interest in our new, installed 43 and 53 cm wide solar panels. This was well received by the architects, although at the same time we also state extensively that the Brussels edition was also particularly well attended by interior specialists.”

At Orac, which presented 3D wallcoverings with a repeating pattern, David Verheyden was especially enthusiastic. Fixed value Orac was there last year in Kortrijk, but certainly not in a position to conquer in Brussels: “Finally another fair, you can’t believe how much we have been looking forward to this. It ran like clockwork at our particularly centrally located stand, here was an excellent choice! Already during the first day we received nothing but qualitative visitors over the years and despite the fact that we are already present, we made a lot of new contacts. We mainly saw a lot of Brussels architects, but we also noticed that both the provinces of Antwerp and Limburg were well represented. Those visitors also indicated a lot that the location of the fair was very well chosen.”

Also at Duravit, a specialist in sanitary ware, things were at times over the top. Jan Rymen: “This was an excellent fair, with quite a lot of visitors from the east of the country. Our first intention here was networking, with our new product Hygieneflush as a coat rack, but it has become much more than that. We still add quite a few new contacts, practical what existing customers onsen with projects. Our impression of the halls? It couldn’t be better, the incidence of light here is very good and the location could hardly be better. [email protected] once again confirms that it is a concept that works perfectly.”

At Wienerberger, Clickbrick, a circular facade system, was put in the spotlight. “The days started off calmly, but after that it got busier,” Danny Verheecke projects responds. “The setting of this one is fantastic, with excellent lighting and a great sense of space, although I think it’s worth trying to organize another one towards the end of the week. This should certainly not interfere with complaining, this is a very important appointment for us and is an event not to be missed in its niche.”

Visitors speak

Interior architects Lien De Loof and Michelle Lambrecht work for project developer Karolien Lafaut from Tielt. we absolutely wanted to see what novelties are on the market and we found several of them. For example, we stopped at The Romo Group by Intede where we saw a beautiful, handmade new collection of wallcoverings and we also discovered new painting techniques at St. Leo. The formula is unique and it is particularly well tailored to the visitor. You will find everything here in one day, exploring highly targeted innovations. We thought the location was particularly successful. We have never been here before and are impressed with this beautifully renovated complex.”

The organization also ran into a young architect from buro ration architects from Antwerp, which specializes in small to projects in the Antwerp region. The woman would rather not
be mentioned by name, but is happy to add her comments: “This was my very first [email protected], but it certainly won’t be my last. I saw several things here that I did not know before. I am thinking, for example, of lighting in combination with ventilation at Prado, an awning at Stobag and burglar-resistant hinges at Schüco. This concept works very well and what I really like about it is that the people manning the stands always act technically excellently, you don’t just get an empty sales pitch. I visited a total of half a day, but that was enough to search in a very targeted way.”

Young architects also find their way to [email protected] Roosmarijn Wyns is a young trainee architect from Flemish Brabant who is in between two internships. She had already visited the edition in Kortrijk before: “Last year I received an invitation by email for the edition in Kortrijk, visited and was immediately won over by this approach. Besides, I don’t just enjoy discovering so many new products, the seminars are also very interesting for me. hence, by the way, I visited two days in a row. On the first day, for example, I took a lecture about the sustainable city of Brussels and then came back for a seminar on CO2-free and climate-adaptive design.”

Jan Verhasselt is the manager of the architectural firm Stirum 84 from Wemmel. The man visits as many editions of [email protected] as possible: “I visit very few trade fairs because this usually involves a lot of searching and little seeing, which does not apply to this concept. The strength of this concept is that everything is on such a surface and that you first have to deal with innovations that have been screened in advance. I am mainly active in finishing, with a specialization in its function. I am currently working on a home of my own, so you can also see me stopping at interior stands.