Exploring the Versatility of Ceramics through Cersaie

To have a bird’s eye view of how gigantic Cersaie, the International Ceramics and Tiles Exhibition held yearly in Bologna, Italy, is to look at the numbers from last year’s edition. With an exhibition space of 145,000 sq. mt, Cersaie could arguably be one of the largest exhibitions for the tile and ceramics industry. With 633 exhibitors from 27 countries, of which 38% were from outside of Italy, Cersaie 2023 attracted close to 100,000 visitors from 165 countries, of which 48% were foreign visitors. It is difficult to beat these numbers but then it is said that every year Cersaie’s attendance and participation tends to grow a little more than its previous edition. We talk to the organisers EDI.CER, Editor Andrea Serri, who is an important name in the field of ceramics with an extensive knowledge of the industry.

Twenty years ago, during the Cersaie that year, Andrea Serri had mentioned in his address that the limits of ceramic tiles as a material application will grow adding new and larger surfaces. Now, a few years earlier, the tunnel connecting Bologna to Florence which is 60km long, has been covered with the versatile ceramic tiles, keeping in mind its easy maintenance. An application for ceramics that was not considered twenty years ago.

“From table tops to tall building facades, to the base of a lamp shade, the ceramic tile can be used innovatively for numerous purposes, and is an integral part of the building industry,” says Andrea Serri, “The future of ceramics is unlimited as I feel that the full potential of the material is yet to be discovered and explored. I foresee a much wider range of uses for ceramics.”

And bringing all the innovation to the forefront is Cersaie, the International Exhibition of Ceramics for Architecture and Bathroom Furnishings that has been held annually in Bologna for over 40 years. It is still the most important exhibition in the world of ceramics.

Cersaie is promoted by Confindustria Ceramica and organized by the subsidiary Edi.cer. Spa.

For a professional in the building industry, attending the Cersaie is an eye opener to the wide and stunning world of ceramics and tiles. Last year Cersaie celebrated its 40^th year of existence and also had a record turnover of visitors from around the world.

The Versatility of Ceramics

We speak with Andrea Serri, a man who is considered to be an encyclopaedia of all things ceramics and the tile industry, and ask him about the theme of Cersaie in 2024.

“The main focus of Cersaie 2024, which is a worldwide event for the tile industry is that we try to join together both the commercial activities of the trade fair and its cultural wing, where we bring in architects and cultural ambassadors who with their talks and discussions, brings the focus back on the world of ceramics,” says Serri.

“Ceramics is actually a slab which is an important architectural feature of a building. But early on, we knew that for an architectural product to gain popularity, it has to be used widely and across the construction business and for this, architects had to understand the versatility of the product,” he says.

“We started our cultural programmes from 2009. This branch of Cersaie was born with Renzo Piano in 2009 where he spoke about “Making Architecture and this year we have the Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto, winner of the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize, to deliver this year’s keynote lecture organised as part of Cersaie’s “Building, Dwelling, Thinking” cultural programme. This is the first time that we are welcoming to Cersaie, an architect who has recently secured the most valuable award of architecture, in the same year as when he was recognised. This is a phenomenal step for us and will also set our name in the cultural programme,” says Serri.

Having a community of architects at an international setting where architects congregate and talk about ceramics, their innovation, the challenges in procuring large slabs of the material, tackling the sustainable angle of the material and also understanding the versatility of the material, makes for the success of Cersaie.

“That is why the commercial and the cultural programmes at Cersaie marry well and is the reason behind the success of the Fair,” says Serri.

Knowing about Ceramics

With 626 exhibitors from the six continents of the world and 100,000 visitors last year, there is an aspect of the Fair that makes it equally attractive to a professional as well as the professional.

And that aspect that makes Cersaie an important spectacle, according to Serri, are the exhibition spaces themselves.

“Each exhibitor creates a world of innovation that makes Cersaie a creative hub for ceramics and tiles” promises Serri, “How ceramics, which was not such a glamourous product when it was first used, can be used for surfaces like table tops and wall facades of tall buildings, are all shown quite beautifully at the exhibition halls, educating as well as entertaining the viewers at the Fair.”

Sustainable Angle

Most architects love to work on natural materials and that is one aspect that the ceramics industry has been questioned for. The fact that this material is a manmade product makes it less attractive than other flooring materials like marble or granite.

Serri answers to these allegations by saying that every product on the face of earth expedites energy, be it marbles, which of course is a natural product found readily available on the face of earth but needs infinite energy to be procured from mountains.

“We are breathing and we emit carbon dioxide. There is no material or species that does not have an impact on earth, some might be less while some are much larger,” he says.

“For one square meter of space to cover, we need a larger quantity of marble to be acquired keeping in mind wastage and availability while for ceramics we can procure the exact measurement with minimum wastage. Another advantage of ceramics tiles is that it can be reused as well,” he adds.

Ceramics are made from renewable resources like clay or sand, which are found abundantly in nature. This means that ceramic products score points in terms of sustainability even before the production process begins. Despite the high temperatures used in the manufacturing of ceramic products, the kilns used are energy-efficient. The manufacturing process of ceramics has refined itself to include sustainable practices like reusing water. The Italian Ceramics Industry is constantly refining its energy usage and finding methods to reduce the energy consumed in the process, and the innovations can all be seen at Cersaie very year, according to Serri.

The innovative way in which the ceramics industry can grow is countless, according to Serri and he foresees a future that is bright with possibilities for the ceramics and tile industry. And bringing these innovations and creative designs to a worldwide audience will be Cersaie, year after year.