The Interior Design Show, IDS2020, opens at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on January 16 and runs for four days. The country’s largest design exposition and conference serves as both a catalyst and authority for Canadian design, say organizers. And it will be all about future-forward vision.
“Yesterday’s designer has become today’s problem solver and tomorrow’s visionary,” Karen Kang, national director of IDS Canada, says in a release. “This year’s IDS theme will explore how designers now create experiences at the intersection of technological and social problems, imagining new roads to alternative realities.”
IDS2020 will showcase not only designers, but also the global thinkers, shapers and dreamers involved in home design. And it continues to serve as Canada’s leading launchpad for new furniture and home accessories, the place to see next-generation designs and concepts.
Thursday and Friday: the show will be open to the construction and design trades only. They will have access to several new features, including IDS Conference. This year’s international guest of honour is San Francisco-based Swiss designer, entrepreneur and humanitarian Yves Béhar, a pioneer in smart homes and co-working spaces. The keynote speaker is multidisciplinary British designer Bethan Laura Wood.
Saturday and Sunday: The doors open to the design-curious public to tour the exhibits. Visitors may also choose to sit in on one of the many lectures or attend 60-minute classes given by design experts on a wide range of current topics.
Some highlights:
IDS2020 Concept House presents RESET Home, a multisensory experience that transcends contemporary design. Creators Hummingbird Hill Homes, VFA Architecture + Design and Victoria Taylor Landscape Architect are out to shift the way we perceive, interpret and experience what home life will be like in the future.
Three popular show features are back: Curated by Design Milk, Maker spotlights the limited-distribution work of artisanal North American studios. Design pop-up shop Milk Stand returns with selected works by independent designers and makers. And Studio North & Prototype provides a stylish showcase for emerging designers’ innovative and avantgarde works.
New this year: The innovative design, materials and methods infusing textiles and wall-coverings are on view at Off the Wall, Off the Loom.
Edible Futures: A travelling art installation from the Netherlands, this thought-provoking exhibit invites reflection about the future of shared food.
Healing Habitat: In the form of a modular garden, Casestudy Studio provides visitors with a lush oasis in which to decompress away from the show floor.
Tickets and info: toronto.interiordesignshow.com
