Exhibitions
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Salone Contract begins: Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten (OMA) sign the Masterplan
Rem Koolhaas, Founding Partner of OMA - Ph. Charlie Koolhaas, courtesy of OMA
An initiative dedicated to the most strategic segment for the development of the supply chain, which will take shape in 2026 with a thematic journey among exhibitors already operating in the contract segment and a first day of the Forum
Salone Contract makes its debut, a long-term strategic project by Salone del Mobile: a new initiative designed to understand and interpret the complexity of contract furnishing, a market undergoing rapid and significant transformation, where value is shifting from individual products to the ability to integrate systems, skills, data and services.
The project, entrusted to the architects Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA, an architecture and urbanism studio, is conceived as a longterm strategic investment, structured over the time necessary to read and understand the complexity of the contract ecosystem. The global contract market is currently estimated at around €68 billion and is expected to exceed €110 billion over the next decade (Source: Global Market Insight Inc). This growth is not merely quantitative, but structural, driven by the increasing integration of products, technologies and operational models, with direct effects on industrial organisation and business models across the supply chain.
“Contract is today one of the segments where the most significant transformations are taking place, from an industrial, operational and market perspective", said Maria Porro, President of Salone del Mobile.Milano. "The Salone has chosen to address this challenge through a project that is visionary, yet at the same time strongly structured, capable of offering tools for analysis and orientation within an economic scenario marked by profound complexity. The collaboration with Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA, among the most perceptive observers of the present, represents an opportunity to engage with a strong vision combined with a solid methodological approach."
"We selected OMA not to apply an exhibition model, but to read ongoing phenomena, intercept emerging signals and connect domains that rarely interact with one another, in a contract context in which value increasingly depends on the ability to integrate systems, data and expertise. The objective is to ask the right questions at the moment they matter, and to support the supply chain in building a solid and credible international positioning. In today’s contract market, success no longer depends on showing more, but on understanding earlier a demand that is increasingly sophisticated and integrated with services”.
Since the 19th century, world fairs have functioned as experimental grounds where industries project their ambitions, where cultural dialogues are reinvented, and where opportunities for collaboration materialise. Today, Salone Contract presents a contemporary iteration of that typology – an arena for examining its relevance and observe how it adapts within an increasingly unstable geopolitical landscape
— Rem Koolhaas, Founding Partner of OMA
— Rem Koolhaas, Founding Partner of OMA
Salone Contract 2026: an edition focused on culture, business and networking
Scenario analysis, but also a thematic approach to connect industry, demand, and markets. During the 64th edition of the Salone del Mobile, Rem Koolhaas will invite public reflection on the themes framing the project with a dedicated Lectio Magistralis.
Following the success of Euroluce International Lighting Forum, also as part of the April 2026 edition, Salone del Mobile, in collaboration with OMA, will host a first day of conversations to explore, with an interdisciplinary approach, the new paradigms of a rapidly evolving sector.
Within the pavilions of Fiera Milano, business and networking will be at the center of thematic pathway among exhibitors. Purpose: to highlight the production models, design skills and operational approaches of exhibitors at the Salone who are already active in the sector. To support this initiative, Salone has already launched, with the support of ITA - Italian Trade Agency, an incoming programme aimed at attracting 250 selected international players, activating a new digital matchmaking platform to connect supply and demand.
As of September 2026, Salone Contract will embark on an international road tour across key geographies for large-scale and giga-projects, with events dedicated to in-depth analysis of global scenarios, emerging dynamics and current and future investments. The objective is to progressively build an informed and profiled international audience ahead of the first edition of the exhibition in 2027.
David Gianotten, Managing Partner and OMA Architect: “Contract is a segment that relies less on individual products and more on an established ecosystem – one that aligns the design, production, and delivery of both furniture and architecture to create desirable built environments for the long term. The growing global significance of the contract segment presents opportunities for industry stakeholders to reinvent themselves, considering not only individual objects but integrated systems. OMA is excited to collaborate with the Salone del Mobile.Milano to develop an infrastructure that supports this transformation.”
Contract: an evolving market
Contract furnishing in Europe represents a market with production exceeding €13.5 billion and consumption of approximately €11 billion. Over the past two years, the segment has outperformed the wider furnishing sector, confirming its structural resilience even within a complex macroeconomic scenario.
Contract production remains largely concentrated in Europe, while less than 20 per cent of output is destined for extra-European projects, primarily in North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. The United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Poland and Sweden together account for more than 60 per cent of total European production, confirming Europe’s role as a global manufacturing and design hub (Source: The Contract Furniture and Furnishings Market in Europe Report, CSIL).
Among the main drivers of the post-pandemic contract market, several sectors stand out – particularly those with a high level of design content and strong demand for customization. Alongside the office segment, which remains the largest by volume, solid performance is also seen in high-end accommodation and in the education, healthcare, and marine sectors. These latter three segments have shown steady growth between 2018 and 2024, driven by a continuously rising demand for bespoke solutions. The marine sector, in particular, demonstrated remarkable resilience as early as 2020, supported by the recovery of cruise traffic and the intense activity of shipyards. This is further reinforced by the strong contribution of the yacht and superyacht segment, increasingly focused on high-end, custom-made furnishings and kitchens. (Source: Emerging Trends in Real Estate® 2026, PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
