Workshops, festival and more: This is what happened at NEW HOUSING 2024 – and what's coming in 2025
The year is coming to an end – time to look back. What happened in the NEW HOUSING year 2024? What were the highlights? And what is actually happening in the coming year?
Whenever a year comes to an end, it's time to look back. A lot has happened for the NEW HOUSING team in 2024. 2025 will be just as eventful. In this review, we would also like to take a look behind the scenes of NEW HOUSING.
Visiting HanseBau in Bremen in January
Part of the work in the trade fair sector also includes regular visits to competitors' events. In January, part of the team made the trip to Bremen to visit the HanseBau. The construction fair covers a range of aspects of building, and a small area of the site was dedicated to 2024 Tiny Houses. The team is always happy to make new contacts.
Workshop finalisation round in March
The Tiny House Festival is the most important meeting place for the community in Europe. In addition to the numerous houses, products and services that are important for living in a small space, NEW HOUSING also impresses in terms of content. The Tiny Talks have always been very well attended. They cover topics such as the separating toilet, ecological building, but also reports from tiny house residents. The fully booked workshops were back in 2024. They were last offered in 2019. And because demand has grown steadily over the years, the NEW HOUSING team finally decided in March to revive the workshops and finalise the plans with the relevant speakers – with great success. They will be part of the festival again in 2025. The advantages are obvious. The workshops are limited to 25 participants. This allows topics to be worked on together in detail. How can you use tiny houses as an investment tool? How do you start living in a tiny house? These and other questions will be answered again in 2025.
Design of the press talk in April
For the first time, the press talk took place the day before the NEW HOUSING opening. This replaced the classic press tour, which no longer fit with the festival concept. After the topic had been decided (‘Tiny House settlements – hurdles, opportunities and paths to the village of small houses’) and the participants selected, the get-together took place in April. In addition to project manager and talk show participant Ramona Jonait, moderator Christian Klerner and PR manager Matthias Jundt were also present. The other participants – Fabian Müller, Regina Schleyer and Nadine Nebel – also got to know each other in April.
Festival in June
The highlight of the year was undoubtedly the fifth edition of NEW HOUSING, which took place from 28 to 30 June. For three days, everything at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre revolved around living in small and very small spaces. More than 30 houses, almost 80 exhibitors, an expert forum, workshops and much more impressed visitors and the NEW HOUSING team alike.
Strategy day in July
After the festival is before the festival. Shortly after NEW HOUSING, the team met in Karlsruhe to plan the next event in 2025. Lessons learned from the past trade fair were drawn and adapted for the coming year. New ideas were developed, old ones discarded.
Prepare documents in August
What do trade fair teams actually do when there is no on-site trade fair? The short answer: they prepare. The long answer: in August, the documents for exhibitors were prepared in such a way that a suitable package is available for every sub-sector of the industry. This includes the various price models, but also a legal review by the in-house department. An important part of the documents also concerns data protection.
Presentation of the plans in September
From the budget and where it goes to the planning of the exhibition areas and conceptual further and new developments – every edition of NEW HOUSING is planned in a complex and well-thought-out manner. At some point, the plans are presented to the management – this happened in September. Ideas and plans are critically weighed up and discussed on an equal footing. The plans are then adjusted and finalised accordingly.
Starting signal for 2025 in October
The acquisition process began in October. In concrete terms, this means that exhibition stands are planned and prepared in close consultation with the NEW HOUSING exhibitors. Exhibitors from previous years, as well as interested parties and potential new exhibitors, are contacted. This process usually continues until shortly before the trade fair.
End-of-year spurt in November and December
The last two months of the year are still fully taken up with planning for 2025. What press events will there be? Which loyal exhibitors are still on board? Who is new? What is happening on social media in the coming year?
And 2025?
Next year will be another very eventful one for NEW HOUSING. In addition to the press talk, which will take place for the first time on the opening day of the fair, numerous other projects are in the pipeline. The workshops, which were sold out in 2024, are to be further modified and, ideally, expanded. And other ideas that cannot be mentioned here yet are in the planning and preparation stages.
