HEALTH AND SPA

Dear Readers,

An eventful year is coming to an end. It won’t be remembered as a relaxed one – too many global issues remain unresolved. However, contacts – both personal and professional – have regained momentum, and there were plenty of opportunities for exchanges: trade fairs such as Light & Building in Frankfurt, Salone del Mobile in Milan, Habitat in Valencia, Cersaie in Bologna and Orgatec in Cologne were held regularly again. The comprehensive follow-up report on the office furniture trade fair starts on page 30, and the results of the Architecture+ Office Innovation Award can be found from page 138. The INsider Award took us to Maastricht, award ceremonies to Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart, while invitations to anniversaries, inaugurations, jury meetings and lectures led to refreshing encounters within the industry.

Of course, we once again curated ten AIT issues for you with great dedication – the final one for this year is now in your hands. Its focus: banks and public authorities. You’ll be amazed at how these building types, traditionally associated with security and solidity, respect and distance, have evolved. Banks (from p. 88) now vie for customers’ favour with homely and inviting interiors, while public authorities and service centres virtually invite visitors to experience their services firsthand.

The article “Zukunftsmusik” demonstrates how the interests of citizens can be integrated into planning and design concepts before decisions are made about demolition, new construction, expansion or renovation.

Carli Alexander and Sabrina Tafelmeier from INpuls Interior Design describe “paths to designing the citizens’ office of the future” based on an experimental space in the old Stabskaserne in Freising – an extraordinary participatory process that should catch on.

A highlight this year was our visit to Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. During this journey through time, we met our AIT columnists Dominik and Benjamin Reding to thank them for 14 years of collaboration and their excitingly quirky inputs on the monthly magazine topics. This time, their column “The Nation Builds for You!” is about prisons!

If you’re just starting to ponder Christmas gifts, we can help with suggestions for books and unique items by and for interior designers and architects.

We wish you a wonderful Christmas and all the best for 2025!

Best wishes
Petra Stephan, Dipl.-Ing.
Chief Editor
Architect