Cosentino Draws 250-Plus Designers to Almería for C Next

By Daniel Okafor

More than 250 design professionals from Europe, Africa and the Middle East gathered in Almería, Spain, from 13 to 16 October for the ninth edition of C Next Designers. Spanish surface brand Cosentino hosted the three-day conference under the theme Design to Transform.

The company describes the theme as championing "design as a force capable of reshaping society and adding value to it". That's a tall order for a materials manufacturer's corporate event. Still, the line-up backs it up.

Who spoke and where?

Designers Ron Arad, Karim Rashid and Milan-based Studiopepe all gave talks. This was the fourth edition held in Spain and the ninth worldwide, which tells you where Cosentino's centre of gravity sits.

The event opened with a welcome at the Cabo Gata Beach Hotel. On Wednesday, proceedings moved to Cosentino's industrial park in Cantoria, where CEO Pilar Cosentino gave opening remarks.

Ron Arad then spoke with Jorge Lope, Cosentino's commercial director for Europe, about his career and his collaborations with the brand. The day ended with a guided tour of the facilities, including a local natural stone warehouse. Valentín Tijeras, global vice president of product, also presented the company's latest product innovations.

The second day shifted to the Almería Science and Technology Park (PITA). Brands Novara, Jung, Speho, TECE and Gaggenau gave presentations there, before keynotes from Karim Rashid and Studiopepe — the day's highlight, per the organisers.

What did the panels cover?

Dezeen editorial director (special projects) Max Fraser moderated two panels.

The first, held with bathroom-fixture brand Dornbracht, tackled hyper-personalisation as a creative tool. Panellists were:

• Monica Arango, founder of C'est Ici Design
• Danko Lekic, founder of Black Architecture
• Sascha Bialoian, head of global channel management at Dornbracht

The second panel examined how design is changing everyday habits, with Fran Silvestre of Fran Silvestre Arquitectos, Zaha Hadid Architects associate director Bidisha Sinha, and Ayşin Sevgi Karakurt Macit, founder of AS Architect.

Studio Haus closed the panels, and the event finished with a gala dinner in the Cloister of Almería Cathedral. The dinner's setting took its cue from Dekton Artik Nodes, a new Cosentino material — a suitably on-brand backdrop for a surface company's finale.

Where does Cosentino's product line stand?

The conference doubles as a showcase for the brand's recent launches. Cosentino previously released:

• Nara, a beige-toned porcelain surface designed to celebrate natural stone
• Éclos, an ultra-compact surface designed to be free of crystalline silica (a mineral whose dust poses respiratory risks to stoneworkers)

Last year's C Next Designers conference featured talks by Sabine Marcelis, Peter Ippolito and Nini Andrade Silva. With a decade of editions behind it and a growing EMEA footprint, the event has become a fixed date on Cosentino's calendar — and, increasingly, on the region's.