In 2019, it is to reinvent itself both in terms of layout and in terms of visual impact and will, as a result, be setting new standards for the future. The inclusion of the newly built Hall 12 requires a fundamental rethink of the layout of all the halls. The new grouping for the various product groups and themes creates a clearer overview and greater transparency for visitors and achieves all kinds of synergies for the exhibitors. Alongside the new concept for the exhibition layout, ISH is also changing the sequence of days on which it is held.

For the first time, the show will begin on Monday and end on Friday. This is to accommodate the wishes of the exhibitors and provides the possibility of an additional working day on which trade visitors can attend. At the same time, the new sequence of days makes it easier for international visitors to travel to and from the event. 

Over 2,400 exhibitors, including all the market leaders and technological pioneers from Germany and abroad, will be showcasing their products, many of them for the first time in the world, from 11 to 15 March 2019. The trade fair is the sector’s international meeting place par excellence – already in 2017, some 64 percent of all exhibitors and 40 percent of visitors came from outside Germany. And the trend is upward.
At ISH 2019, the partner country is to be France. This will continue to foster an exchange of ideas and experiences at international level during the show. France was already the third largest nation to be represented amongst the international visitors back in 2017.

At the same time, ISH is an exhibition that showcases the achievements of German industry. With its broad range of pioneering, future-proof products and services for building services engineering, the biennially held leading world trade fair highlights a large number of practical solutions and addresses specifically some of the political and economic issues of the day. The continually growing levels of international participation enables the sector to discuss many of their problems and solutions in increasingly interdisciplinary contexts too.  
 The new Hall 12 has contributed to a unifying concept for the layout of the exhibition at ISH. (Source: Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jean-Luc Valentin).

In the course of current technological change, digitalisation has, more than anything, impacted significantly on all areas at ISH. In the ISH Energy section, which has grown significantly in recent times, everything revolves around intelligent and efficient building services technology. Key topics for consideration include, amongst others, the interlinking of hitherto different sectors, the strong coalescence of heating and renewable electricity, digital heating and the increasing inclusion of IT in innovative heating technologies that goes with it. Topics such as Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) and hybrid heating systems are, moreover, crucially important for this segment.

Areas like cooling, air-conditioning and ventilation technologies appear to have ever more facets to them and to be even more important in 2019. Here, under the heading of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), the focus is, amongst other things, on modern ventilation systems, as well as on centralised and decentralised solutions for both new builds and renovated properties alike. Energy efficiency and a comfortable atmosphere in the room, the phasing out of F gases and the resultant reduction in the availability of suitable refrigerants, as well as the development of alternatives, are all to be discussed, along with the many technical challenges facing the sector. The presentation, at ISH, of skills and competences that cross the demarcation lines between trades, closely linked with innovative building automation, makes an important contribution to both planning and execution processes. In the wake of ubiquitous digitalisation, the Internet of Things (IoT), taken together with Building Information Modelling (BIM), also represents a constantly growing segment and a major building block in the creation of ‘smart’ buildings.

The ISH Water section concentrates, first and foremost, on sustainable sanitation solutions and ultra-modern bathroom design. This area concerns, amongst other things, intelligent water-management systems and how best to make sure they are secure and safe and how best to regulate and monitor them. And clean drinking water, too, is a hugely important area, specifically against the background of increasing urbanisation. At the same time, we must not forget design considerations in the bathroom. The challenges for bathroom planning in the future continue to reflect the need to bring together the various aspects that result from demographic change, together with issues such as health, wellness, comfort and convenience, not forgetting the sparing use of resources. And there will be plenty of exhibitors showcasing ground-breaking solutions for the bathroom, here.

Alongside the extensive presentations offered by the manufacturers, the complementary programme, once again, provides an equally broad range of demonstrations and presentations. To make them clearer and more accessible for visitors, the events are grouped into three ‘clusters’: ‘Selection@ISH’, ‘Skills@ISH’ and ‘Career@ISH’. The ‘Selection’ section includes the presentation of awards, the Trend Forum ‘Pop up my Bathroom’ and a number of guided tours.  Under the heading of ‘Skills’ are grouped all the specialist and technical forums on relevant issues in the sector. The ‘Career’ cluster is devoted entirely to encouraging and fostering the careers of the new and younger members of the profession.

ISH is also well established outside Germany:

• ISH India, powered by IPA, Mumbai:
  28 February to 02 March 2019 
• ISH China & CIHE, Beijing:
  06 to 08 May 2019 
• ISH Shanghai & CIHE, Shanghai:
  03 to 05 September 2019 

You will find detailed information about the new exhibition layout at: www.ish.messefrankfurt.com/restructuring

Further information about ISH can be found at www.ish.messefrankfurt.com

ISH will, for the first time, begin on a Monday and finish on the following Friday, 11 – 15 March 2019.
On the last day, the show will be open to the general public as well as to trade visitors.