Among the many attractive features on show at the fourth edition of Casa Pasarela 2008, which is due to take place in Hall 4 at FERIA DE MADRID between 14th and 17th February,we might mention theextensive repertoire of materials that the brands have employed in their most innovative products and designs. In this respect, the contemporary home, which has become a setting in which the most varied sectors converge, has also become a place where many new materials are employed, many of them quite extraordinary and unimaginable just a few years ago. These materials are the result of the most exquisite innovation on the part of companies within the industry and their need to promote greater efficiency and convenience. For those who like to view the latest new developments, exploring this edition of the fair will be a journey towards new and unexpected solutions, products that offer an impressive sense of design and help us to rediscover the home with a series of highly original ideas.

 

The world of cutting-edge ceramic products for the home is one of the sectors where this sense of innovation is most evident, applied to many aspects of daily life. The ceramics segment offers us ideas for the bathroom and the kitchen, as well as for floors and walls. This diversity becomes apparent when we consider some of the products that will be on show this year at the fair.

 

The Art-Tile Series from Audi is a captivating collection that stands half-way between textile and ceramic fashion. Its designs and textures offer all the warmth and softness of textiles featuring metallic effects.

 

The Emotive Collection from Caracas presents an extraordinary porcelain-based stoneware decorated with digital technology to suit the owner's taste. Thus, this product can be adorned with any image, ranging from photography and graphic designs to drawings.

 

LAMMAX®, from Saloni, is a revolutionary product that is harder than granite but lighter than aluminium. It can be used for a multitude of different applications, thanks to its numerous beneficial properties: it is hygienic, fire-resistant, graffiti-resistant and ice-resistant; it can be cleaned easily and is resistant to chemical attacks, as well as being recyclable.

 

 DrySystem from Tau Cerámica is a dry ceramic flooring system that avoids the use of any kind of adhesive, which eliminates the need for large-scale works and waste, among other aspects.

 

The Celtic Collection from Land Porcelánico evokes the world of nature. This is a new product that recreates the feel and appearance of original classic slate, based on the same uniform colour and surface relief as the natural stone itself. This product thus offers an attractive lining for interiors and for walls.

 

 BathStone is a new material that is employed in the Upgrade Series from Cosmic. This material consists of a mixture of aluminium hydroxide and marble dust with synthetic polyester and acrylic resins. It is resistant, elegant and hygienic.

 

Cristalplant from Trentino is a compound made of mineral dust and resin. It was used to create the Red Dot Design Award-Winner 2007, namely the Scoop Bathtub, a design by Michael Schmidt that will be on show at the fair.

 

Silestone from Cosentino is the world leader in quartz surfaces. This material of sophisticated appeal has all the texture and weight of the natural stone, but offers a much higher level of quality and a series of colours of incomparable consistency.

 

Among the new products that are becoming increasingly popular we might mention Corian®, a unique synthetic material that is solid and homogenous and made by DuPont. Warm to the touch and similar to stone surfaces, this material can be used for kitchens, bathrooms and interior design projects of the most varied type. At Casa Pasarela 2008 we will come across it in the exclusive kitchen known as Venus, created by Pininfarina for Snaidero.

 

The resin and plastic surfacing sector is constantly developing. At this edition of Casa Pasarela we will be able to see the tensioned products of Resyrok, the only system in the world that permits the construction of a false surfacing that is both continuous and dismountable at the same time. Just some of the characteristics of this unique and unequalled system include its high elasticity, fire protection properties, environmentally-friendly appeal, washability and anti-bacterial effects, not to mention its more than 190 finishes and a versatility that makes it ideal for any type of space.

 

Glass has also kept up with thetimes. Among the companies that will be presenting their new features within this field, we might mention Dream Glass, replete with its exquisite and innovative range of products, such as DreamGlass®, which can transform from being translucent to transparent and vice versa at the simple push of a button, offering instant privacy and protection against harmful UV rays. We might also mention the VitroStyle® System, a decorative textile that is laminated between glass and offers the possibility of creating a series of glass surfaces with an infinite number of designs.

 

The field of contemporary furniture is always an appropriate field for experimentation and for the discovery of new materials. Plastics, varieties of wood, metals and treated textiles of the most diverse types form part of many of the most renowned designer furniture items and objects of the twentieth century, not to mention those of the newly-commenced twenty-first century. Unique, luxury materials, as well as thrown-out and recovered materials, provide the habitual creative tools for many designers.

 

Casa Pasarela 2008 will present a number of furniture items that offer cutting-edge solutions, such as those created by Future Systems for Established & Sons. Thus, the Drift bench is made of reinforced fibre-glass and offers a sophisticated shiny finish. Meanwhile, the Chester sofa is moulded out of polyurethane. Unequalled in their formal conception, we might also mention the creations of Zaha Hadid or the retro impressions of the furniture items presented by WrongWoods, which seem to suggest a type of furniture that is half-way between plastic and wood.

 

We might also highlight the exterior furniture products of Dedon, which are made of Hularo, a synthetic fibre developed by the German brand that has a similar appearance to that of wicker but that is highly resistant to changes in temperature and the effects of the weather.

 

Lighting is another field in which designers will surprise us with their new and suggestive materials, which are very often endowed with evocative and poetic touches, combining the strength of plastic with the inexhaustible power of light. Among the lighting products on show at the fair that boast new materials we might mention the curious Skygarden lamp, created by Marcel Wanders for Flos, a suspended lamp with a plaster body painted on the outside. Flos will also present the Zeppelin S1, which has an interior structure made of white painted steel and a resin "cocoon" shade pulverised over the structure.

 

Other new features include Nautiloo from Delta Light, a standing lamp made of the exclusive material, Corian(r), which emits a soft white light as if it were made of marble.

 

Based on its commitment to design and innovation under the heading of materials, Casa Pasarela 2008 will feature four pioneering projects within the framework of its cutting-edge exhibition:  "Abecedario con M de Madrid", "Huellas de Abecedario", "Econciencia" and "I+D+ART". These events will coincide with the fair itself and aim to promote and boost design among home decoration companies, as well as raising awareness of the importance of energy saving and the environment, whilst also incorporating the creative contributions of the most famous architects on the international scene.

 

Casa Pasarela 2008 will be staged to coincide with ARCO and Pasarela Cibeles. These three grand events will turn the City of Madrid into a focal-point for cutting-edge culture and design and provide an extraordinary setting for business and exchange at the highest levels.