Mark 3-6 July on your calendar for the biggest event of the architecture and building industry - the International Architecture, Interior Design & Building Exhibition (ARCHIDEX) as it celebrates its 20 years milestone in this 4-day trade exhibition in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Jointly organised by the leading Malaysian trade and lifestyle exhibitions organiser C.I.S Network Sdn Bhd (C.I.S) and Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM), ARCHIDEX is held in conjunction with the annual Kuala Lumpur Architecture Festival (KLAF).

Marking its 20th anniversary this year, ARCHIDEX will continue celebrating its milestone with a steady progression into a highly regarded regional architecture business event, expecting a sizable 35,000 turnout of professionals and trade visitors of the industry from over 70 countries.

Bridging professionals and the various representatives of high-quality materials from Malaysia and the world, visitors can expect to explore exhibitors from more than 20 countries and four country pavilions from China, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan in the exhibition.

Setting itself to be larger than ever this year, ARCHIDEX will take up an additional three newly built halls at the new wing of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, altogether occupying 10 halls, covering a total of 24,000sqm of floor space — an increase of an additional 20% of space that will house 600 local and international exhibitors with over 1,400 exhibition booths altogether.

At a media preview held this morning at the convention centre, C.I.S President Dato' Vincent Lim said "Building together across the 20 years, we have put Malaysia in the eyes of the world, with ARCHIDEX being known as a niche marketplace for the building industry and touted as a global gateway to South East Asia. It is a place to gather not just for networking amongst people of the industry across this region, but also a place for them to gain knowledge and industry expertise, technologies and know-how."

"On this note, we would like to welcome Malaysian architects from other states and overseas to this significant event. Among the expected visitors are over 2,800 trade buyers to source for new, cutting-edge products and knowledge. We are also partnering MATRADE to enable trade buyers to source for local products and technologies."

Another exciting facet of this year's edition is the new Innovation Hall. Housing the PAM Pavilion of Tomorrowland, key exhibits in here are especially for global futurists to explore the possibilities in architecture and urban design for the future.

With rapid development in robotics, programming, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, big data, blockchain and various undefined technological developments, the Innovation Hall will help visitors see that solutions for the future would be an integrated ecosystem that requires the involvement of all parties.

Keeping the excitement level high, ARCHIDEX together with its Strategic Partner Artwright, will also be unveiling the Office of Tomorrow in the Innovation Hall. Committed to working along Architects and Designers, Artwright will feature a concept that unveils state-of-the-art furniture aimed at utilising space and resources effectively to boost growth and fulfil our imagination to an improved way of work. Beyond being a highly effective and prestigious platform of the industry, ARCHIDEX will also be featuring the latest products, trends and innovations from renowned brands. One of its Premier Partners, Larsen, who has been at the forefront of residential and commercial lighting, will be presenting luxurious yet functional quality designs with innovation that combines traditional manufacturing methods with cutting-edge technology crafted from the highest quality materials.

Far from resting on its laurels, ARCHIDEX has also been actively involved in encouraging fresh, up-and-coming talents to play a larger role in the industry as it recognises the synergy needed with them to progress into the future.

Together with its other Premier Partner Roca, the One Day Design Challenge — an International Design Competition that has made its presence in 15 countries around the world — will celebrate its first edition in Malaysia to promote and give visibility to our young talents with a platform for young designers and architects to create original solutions and innovative products related to the bathroom space, in just one day.

Evolving into a multinational festivity, the appeal for ARCHIDEX also lies in its ever-growing range of concurrent and professionally run networking events, conferences, forums, workshops and talks.

Under the KLAF umbrella is the annual International Architecture & Design Conference (DATUM:KL), that will also incorporate a highly regarded 3-day architecture and design conference, featuring a line-up of profound local and international speakers. This concurrent event continues to grow steadily with a thriving number of participants comprising architects, developers, designers, builders, contractors and students from Malaysia and within the ASEAN region.

PAM President Ar. Lillian Tay said "DATUM:KL that happens concurrently with ARCHIDEX in the same venue brings a lot of synergies. The event gathers some of the best architects in the world so that Malaysian architects can have the chance to expose themselves to global benchmarks and at the same time, get incentivised to see what's happening in the design and production world that supports the building industry. This is a place to source for knowledge and to know what is the latest solutions and products for the trade."

Aside from KLAF, there will also be the talks and discussions on cutting edge technologies, solutions and industry updates at Biz@ARCHIDEX and the Focus Forum@ARCHIDEX, ARCHITALENT (Architecture Student Design Competition), and architectural tours, among others. Concurrent exhibitions include ECO-B (Eco Building & Design Exhibition), FACIMEX (Facilities Management & Cleaning Exhibition) and ENGINEER (Mechanical, Electrical & Civil Engineering Exhibition). This year will also see the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Green Building Index (GBI) rating tool.

Pre-register today and stand a chance to win one of four Nespresso Professional Zenius Machines sponsored by Lyreco Office Supplies (M) Sdn Bhd when you visit ARCHIDEX. For more information, log on to www.archidex.com.my.