The exhibition of construction and renovation in Turin with continuing education events, innovative projects, new materials and green building
Restructura, the Exhibition of construction and renovation, ended its 31st edition which took place from 15 to 18 November at the Oval Lingotto in Turin with positive results. The national fair dedicated to building restoration, renovation and redevelopment, this year had over 200 exhibitors from all over Italy and a rich calendar of events: 110 conferences and professional development courses and 10 theoretical-practical workshops which involved operators in the sector and the general public.
The events which took place throughout the exhibition were at its core, significantly shifting the focus to professional development and learning. Thanks to the cooperation with the professional association of the Engineers of the Province of Turin, the Architects of Turin, the Chartered Surveyors of Turin and Tax Advisers, all present at Restructura, the calendar of events covered different topics: from legislation to sustainability in architecture, the renewal of design criteria and new building technologies, up to projects and procedures to revitalize the territory and businesses.
The 31st Exhibition of Construction and Renovation represents an opportunity for professional development, looking at innovation and sustainability
Aside from professional associations, we must also mention the presence of and initiatives promoted by CasaClima Network and UNCEM (National Union of Mountain Towns and Communities). The former, as well as being at the exhibition with an area dedicated to energy efficient building and sustainable construction – aimed at creating a network around the world of CasaClima –, also organized a series of theoretical and practical courses focused on solutions, verification and specialist in-depth analysis of energy efficient design. At the core is mainly – as revealed by the name of the event – the renewal and redevelopment of the building heritage.
The presence of UNCEM Piemonte, with the Mountain Towns and mountain unions at Restructura, can also be seen from this perspective, mainly through the initiatives “Alps energy efficiency. With A2E, challenges and solutions for the sustainability and regeneration of public real estate” and “The winning mountain. Villages and towns to be transformed”. During the two public talks, the cross-border cooperation project Interreg Alcotra A2E was illustrated and the opportunities for improvement in the energy and functional efficiency of existing buildings and the territory in general were highlighted; the need for a design and construction chain of production to attract investors and meet future challenges was also at the center of these events.
An answer to new needs and possible indications for building the future also came from the businesses and craftsmen who were at Restructura, both in terms of materials and processing, new technologies and applications. This must be the key to interpret two new features within the exhibition itself: the Green Building Village – to showcase alternative and eco-friendly materials – and the part dedicated to home innovation with 11 Italian start-ups. In the first case, the focus was on materials such as massive wood, hemp, straw, clay, soil and lime, and their use. In the second one, the innovation promoted by the start-ups was based on the idea of “future living” interpreted through projects such as the remote home automation system (we spoke about voice-activated systems in the article about Amazon) of the Powahome electrical system or the NED energy assistant by the Midori team, or innovative building systems such as SpeedyBRICK by Rewallution and the photovoltaic windows developed by Glass to Power, up to the electric radiant floor and wall heating system by Easytech srl.
Restructura, therefore, as well as being a reference event for the building sector, also tries to capture new trends and provide opportunities to talk directly to professionals thanks to the initiative “Meet the expert”, to discuss technical and bureaucratic issues, in a process where competence and the need for tools and interpretation keys in order to move within today’s building scenario are once again the main focus.
