Italian designer Massimo Iosa Ghinia addressing architecture and design forum attendees on the importance of utilizing sustainable technologies.

Expo Revestir, currently being held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, opened with the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by industry and country officials, as well as thousands of attendees. Organizers say they are expecting more than 45,000 professional to attend the four-day event, which concludes Friday, March 12.

During opening ceremonies, the senator of Brazil’s Santa Catarina county, Ideli Salvatti, said, "The construction industry is constantly evolving. Expo Revestir brings together all the professionals of the field people who create, develop, sell and produce. It is very important for the Brazilian market."

According to president of Revestir, Antonio Carlos Kieling, this year’s growth projection for the construction sector is 15%. "The expectations for this market in 2010 are the best. Two years after the crisis that shook the whole world economy, we expect our field to present an increase of 8.47% in its figures, which is an impressive number."

Ligia Amorim, president of Nürnberg Messe, organizers of the co-located Kitchen & Bath exhibition, mentioned that the growth in production, marketing and export of these products is closely linked to numbers in the building industry. As a result, 2010 will bring “relevant growth.”

Also revealed during a press conference was “that the national production capacity of the ceramic industry should exceed 850 million m²,” according to Kieling. "One indicator that directly contributes to this growth is undoubtedly the fair, which will generate approximately US$150M in business. This represents almost 10% more when compared to the previous edition,” projected Kieling.

Sustainability was the theme of this afternoon on the first day of the International Forum of Architecture and Construction. Italian designer Massimo Iosa Ghini, and American architect George Elvin explained the importance of applying sustainable techniques both in the creation of design objects, as in large architectural projects. The designer sees architecture as a form of design and vice versa. The most important aspect of his work: combining the language of quality with sustainability, said Ghini.

George Elvin brought to the Forum the concept of nanotechnology, fully applied in his projects. When the formulation of molecular materials are modified, Elvin said it results in a more “resistant product, making buildings safer, cleaner, stronger and more tenable, using less material in the whole process to achieve the same results in the work.”