Showcases

Art Basel in Basel was launched 50 years ago. Today, it is one of the most familiar brands in the global art market, with its three shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong attracting a total of 260,000 visitors and more than 3.5 million social media followers. And it has clear ideas for the future too: the three leading shows are to be strengthened still further, with the community being further expanded at the same time. Additional relevant platforms are to be offered to this end – especially in the digital field.

The development of a community has been a point of focus for Art Basel for decades – first at the shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong, and then through initiatives such as the crowdfunding initiative, the BMW Art Journey and the Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report, as well as through an increased presence in the social media. Although digital platforms will never be able to replace the experience of a live event, online channels are playing an increasingly important role for Art Basel too. Its online catalogue, which includes more than 40,000 works of art, enables Art Basel gallery owners to share pictures and information on their artists with the Art Basel public.

Following a test phase, the new “Global Guide” was introduced in 2019. This can be accessed via the Art Basel App and lists more than 500 galleries from the Art Basel network by location – in each city with an Art Basel gallery. In this way, the Art Basel public can plan gallery visits in 130 cities all over the globe. The app also provides key information on the galleries and their events as well as on the works of art they have presented at Art Basel in the past.

Art Basel is going one step further with the “Online Viewing Rooms”, which are being launched in 2020. The new online platforms are “active” in parallel to the shows and enable Art Basel exhibitors to present works of art to the public that are not on display at the show and offer them for sale. The “Online Viewing Rooms” for Art Basel will enable collectors to view thousands of works of art and to contact the gallery directly with sales enquiries.

Art Basel

Holz is Switzerland’s oldest trade fair and the most important meeting point for the Swiss timber industry. It is held at Messe Basel every three years. Today, it focuses entirely on trends and innovations, live experiences and digitalisation.

The star of Holz 2019 was “Lotti, the BIM cow” – huge and heavy, yet also elegant and made of wood. BIM stands for “Building Information Modelling” and describes a method of networked planning, execution and management of buildings. “Lotti” stood for change, networking and digitalisation in the timber industry. A total of 150 companies were able to work on the production of “Lotti” and thus experience the concepts and options that will be available for working together in future. A digital twin of "Lotti”, comprising 150 parts, was made available in the cloud beforehand. Participating companies were able to download one of the parts and produce it. The finished parts were then put together at the exhibition. Besides demonstrating the use of the very latest digital technologies, “Lotti” also showcased the exemplary cooperation of different trades and professions extending beyond the timber industry.

A second, very special “building project” at Holz 2019 was the construction of a “Tiny House” in just four days. The compact building made of timber for two people marks a potential solution in times of more dense construction and a lack of building land. Visitors were able to see this for themselves on the Saturday of the fair – after the topping out ceremony had been held the previous day with carpenters, celebratory speeches and a traditional carpenters’ hand-clapping routine.

On an exhibition area of some 45,000 m2 at Holz 2019 in Basel, 368 exhibitors presented their products and services in the segments of joinery, interior fittings, timber construction, carpentry, industry and commerce. A total of 35,005 visitors came to find out about the latest trends and innovations. In the special section on the “Future of Wood”, for example, suppliers of innovative technologies, materials and designs highlighted the industry’s innovative strength. Lectures and discussions were held twice a day in the Innovation Forum. The Swiss Carpenter Championships and the Best Young Talent competition for joiners picked out the stars of their trades.

Holz

Smart classrooms and trips to ancient Egypt through virtual reality. Digitalisation opens up major opportunities in education while, at the same time, posing challenges for teachers. How can they help shape the digital transformation, what skills do they require?

Answers to these questions were provided at the first didacta DIGITAL Swiss, the new meeting point for digitalisation in education, which had its premiere at Messe Basel from 28 to 30 November 2019. Around 2,500 education managers and teaching staff discussed the digital future of teaching and education with experts and exhibiting companies.

Fifty national and international exhibitors presented their latest developments and solutions for learning and teaching with digital media. The focus was on topics that included basic digital education, educational deployment scenarios, digital teaching aids and apps, high-performance infrastructure, and robotics and coding. In parallel to the exhibition, a total of 76 events were staged – keynotes by experts, best-practice examples, discussion rounds and workshops.

The first edition of didacta DIGITAL Swiss was supported by didacta (Association of the German Education Industry), asut (Swiss Telecommunications Association), the Zurich University of Teacher Education, the PZ.BS Pedagogical Center, the We Are Play Lab Foundation and screen supplier Prowise.

didacta DIGITAL Swiss

More than 35,000 people die of AIDS every year in Europe alone and, in some African countries, 25 percent of the population is infected with HIV. Despite major medical progress in the fight against the illness and virus, the problem remains an urgent one. At the conference of the European AIDS Clinical Society EACS, held in the Congress Center Basel from 6 to 9 November 2019, some 3,250 experts from 100 countries looked into the latest findings on AIDS and HIV.

This major congress, which is staged every two years, was held at the Congress Center Basel for the first time. The entire congress infrastructure was in use, as well as the Event Hall. “The opening session with its awards presentation ceremony constituted an initial highlight already, following two years of intensive preparatory work by the organising committee. And the dynamic opening maintained its impact throughout the congress”, reported Manuel Battegay, former president of the EACS. Particular importance was attached to networking, and different platforms were thus provided for face-to-face discussions. The conference was accompanied by an e-poster exhibition.

The four-day event was one of the biggest that the CCB hosted last year. The CCB was thus able to continue its series of major international events that have opted for Basel as a destination. Battegay was also full of praise: “Basel is a top destination for conferences, and the support provided is intensive. I am convinced that this and other similar conferences will have a lasting impact.”

“The CCB team couldn’t have been more helpful and efficient. The logistics and layout of both the Event Hall and CCB worked amazingly well. I wouldn’t hesitate to take another large (or small) congress to Basel and the CCB”, were the words of praise voiced by the Association’s officer responsible for the congress in describing her working relationship with the Congress Center Basel.

The Association for Medical Education in Europe is a globally operating association with members in more than 90 countries on all five continents. The organisation unites professors, lecturers, researchers, members of the government and the administration and also ambitious young academics in the medical and healthcare disciplines. The Association has been holding an annual conference in a European city since 1973.

European AIDS Conference

MCH Global supportet Infiniti in exploring new initiatives in the future of automotive retail, during launched Q-Store roadshow. Launched in October 2019 in the UAE, the mobile Q-Store is traveling throughout the Middle East directly to the target audience. It attracted a thousand customers, generated 200 leads for Infiniti Middle East, and packed up to mobilize to its next location.

On display are revolutionary concepts in both the purchase, and displaying mobility services and features. Through an engaging brand experience, including test drives and direct sales feedback, real-time data was successfully filtered for on-site conversion.

The eye-catching sales lounge was flanked by a large sliding screen from left to right, taking the customer through Infiniti’s 30-year legacy and all the way through to future mobility. Beyond the models on display, we developed a fascinating technology to discover the QX80 model through a Mixed Reality Experience. Through the lens of Magic leap AR glasses, the customers were able to navigate around the vehicle and interact with the digital overlay on the car, providing key information about performance and hidden features.

The AR experience then continued with a tour of the luxurious interiors. The windscreen also transformed into a simulation displaying several traffic situations and highlighting Infiniti’s safety technology. Consumers looking to customize their car could use a touch screen with a 3D model. The bespoke details and mock-ups were quickly transmitted to customers, transforming a tech experience into a future sale.

MCH Global

MC² was commissioned by the Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation to produce the three-day 2019 Siebel Scholars Conference in Chicago. The theme of the annual conference: “Social Media: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?” The aim: To come up with solutions for the potential regulation of social media’s more negative impact on the future of society. The participants: Scientists, representatives of public authorities, authors and internet experts. The programme: Lectures, panel discussions, round-table talks – plus a gala evening and a Maroon 5 concert.

The Siebel Scholars Foundation and MC2 jointly developed the concept of an interdisciplinary platform where participants would be able to pool their experiences, innovations, trends and concerns in respect of social media. They also drew up the agenda together. MC² thus took on responsibility for producing the entire conference, from the design, through to the planning and implementation. The contract included managing all the items on the programme, from the acquisition of speakers through to the coordination of personnel and equipment, and also the marketing and communication – including participant registration. MC² was also in charge of the logistics and setup for staging the event at a total of six different locations, with the venue having to be switched from Boston to Chicago in the course of the planning phase.

On the evening of the second day, the intensive and varied conference programme, which featured numerous information and discussion events with experts such as Dr. Alex Kogan, Jean Twenge, Karl Rove and many others, included a unique Maroon 5 concert in the Field Museum Chicago. Those present were not only entertained by the legendary band – brightly lit pavilions, photo booths, Twitter zones and interactive games served as signposts and kept participants busy and on the move.

MC2

For the second time running, Expomobilia constructed an innovative trade fair stand for the internationally renowned “USM Haller Modular Furniture System” at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Inspiration for the 2019 trade fair stand was derived from the question: Where precisely is the boundary between working and living today? Instead of a clear boundary, these areas are set to become increasingly mixed in future.

For the Milan furniture fair, the USM company teamed up with the designers from UN-Studio to find an answer to this question and commissioned Expomobilia to implement the design concept that it came up with. Under the heading “Let’s make this place together!”, the USM stand showcased the aspects that connect working and living in a creative manner, with co-working spaces, cafés, hotel lobbies and libraries that can be shared by a whole range of people when carrying out their work. The USM modular furniture systems integrated in the stand were able to highlight their dynamic adaptability in this way. Visitors to the stand were invited to actively participate in configuring the stand and – in a playful approach – were able to change the classic geometric appearance of the modular furniture system by affixing stickers to the elements. This change of perspective provided the USM systems with a new visual identity.

For the USM stand at the 2019 Milan Furniture Show, which had an overall surface area of 204 square metres and a 5-metre high rear wall, Expomobilia constructed a walk-on, statically tested stand platform equipped with seating and individually dimmable LED lighting effects in just a very short time. The contract included consultancy work, stand construction, transport to the site and on-site assembly.

Expomobilia