Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – ARCHIDEX 15, the 16th International Architecture, Interior Design and Building Exhibition, Malaysia, returned with a bigger show from 12 to 15 August at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. A targeted audience of over 34,000 attended the exhibition including 14,000 architects, interior designers and developers from over 60 countries.

ARCHIDEX achieved unprecedented records of over 550 Malaysian and international companies from 19 countries taking 1,300 booths sprawled across all nine halls of the convention centre. Recognised as one of Malaysia’s largest exhibitions, ARCHIDEX had extended another new hall at the adjacent Mandarin Oriental Hotel this year.

ARCHIDEX was jointly organised by the Malaysian Institute of Architects (Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia or PAM) and C.I.S Network Sdn Bhd, a leading Malaysian trade and lifestyle exhibitions organiser.

The exhibition was held concurrently with the annual Kuala Lumpur Architecture Festival (KLAF) and PAM Convention, which is regarded as an influential platform to showcase the works of emerging and established local and international architects and designers.

“Asia is home to some of the world’s most innovative and intriguing architecture with many more on the horizon,” said PAM President Ar. Mohd Zulhemlee An. “Our PAM Convention consistently brings together well established and avant garde architects and designers to share their work in DATUM:KL (International Architectural Design Conference), held alongside ARCHIDEX, resulting in an interesting and inspiring exchange of ideas and solutions amongst our fraternity. We are excited to be part of a constantly evolving industry and we hope to continue elevating this event onto even greater heights,” added Zulhemlee.

ARCHIDEX’s success has earned the show a highly coveted position at the forefront of the region’s robust architecture, design and building industry. ARCHIDEX is also recognised as a popular gateway into the burgeoning South East Asian market and an ideal platform to launch innovative new collections.

“It was a natural decision for us to grow our footprint beyond Malaysia with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC),” explained C.I.S Network Sdn Bhd President Dato’ Vincent Lim.

“Comprising 10 Southeast Asian nations with a singular goal of transforming our vibrant region into a single market and production base, the AEC gives us a competitive advantage, as we are all emerging economies. As a well-recognised and highly regarded exhibition, ARCHIDEX is an ideal gateway into this thriving region,” he added.

Accordingly, ARCHIDEX has seen a steady growth of foreign participation each year. This year, exhibitors hailed from 19 countries – Austria, Australia, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United States of America. Country Pavilions participating were from Austria, China, Germany, Singapore and USA.

ARCHIDEX covered all aspects of the architecture, design and building industry needs under one roof, structured into the categories of –

• Window, doors and glass
• Kitchen and appliances
• Sanitaryware
• Roofing, tiles and stones
• Architectural and building materials
• Interior, floor and walls
• Eco building products

The ECO-B exhibition was co-located with ARCHIDEX. This popular exhibition explored a growing interest in environmentally responsible buildings around the world as well as the advancements in technology and innovative solutions available. The product categories covered energy and water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and materials and resources.

A highlight this year was the introduction of the Advanced Materials section at Hall 9B. This display showcased brilliant innovations, technological development and cutting edge solutions for the industry today. These products were carefully curated, and were nominees or winners for the ARCHIDEX 15 New Product Award and Green Dot Award.

Advanced Materials allowed architects and designers a first-hand glimpse of the latest technological breakthroughs and solutions available. A stringent set of criteria was used to make the final selection. These products were chosen for their various features including sustainability, durability, and performance. From solar technologies and nanomaterials, this selection represented innovation at its best.

In line with continuing efforts to promote a spirit of innovative excellence among exhibitors, this year’s ARCHIDEX saw a strategic repositioning of its competitive annual awards that are highly coveted industry recognition.

The New Product Awards remained an acknowledgment for excellence in design and production, whereas the New Eco Product Awards will now be known as the Green Dot Award. This is aimed at strengthening the award’s identity with its exemplary environmental attributes. A respected panel of judges evaluated products that were distinguished by superior design and innovation, technological advancements, and sustainability factors. All the nominees and winners’ panel displays were located at the Foyer in Hall 2, and also at the participating exhibitors’ booths.

Similarly to the previous editions, the four-day exhibition was packed with concurrently held events and networking sessions with DATUM:KL, forums (PPF, Green Building Forum, and Kuala Lumpur Design Festival), trade talks (Biz@ARCHIDEX & Biz@ECO-B), exhibitor product launches, industry meetings, industry luncheons, hosted cocktails and a Building Industry Gala Dinner (BIG Night).

This year’s ARCHIDEX also marked the start of a unique green collaboration between ARCHIDEX and the Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) together with Biji-Biji Initiative, a Malaysian social enterprise that champions sustainable living by reusing discarded materials into useful objects. Under this green initiative, all banners displayed at ARCHIDEX would be collected and sent to Biji-Biji Initiative to be recycled into fashionable and trendy bags.

The Premier Partner of ARCHIDEX 15 was Lamitak, while its Strategic Partners were Malaysia Mosaics Sdn Bhd, Roca Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Kian Interiors Sdn Bhd, Formica Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Akzo Nobel Paints Malaysia Sdn Bhd - Dulux, and Antah Schindler Sdn Bhd.

For more information, visit www.archidex.com.my.