Élodie, Maelle, Manon, Jorane, and ChaCha from the Agence Amevet team attended Architect@Work Lyon, one of the most anticipated events for architecture and interior design professionals.
Held at the Halle Tony Garnier, the fair stands out for its original concept. Here, there are no spectacular booths or endless catalogs. The entire space is bathed in dim light, punctuated by wide aisles lined with black drapes. This deliberately minimalist design focuses attention on what matters most: innovation.
A trade show that gets right to the point
Architect@Work is based on a simple and highly effective principle. Each exhibitor must present at least one recent innovation, selected in advance by a committee of experts. The goal is not to showcase a complete product line, but to highlight a solution, material, or technology capable of offering designers a new approach.
For interior designers and furniture specialists at Agence Amevet, this format offers a twofold benefit. On the one hand, it allows them to quickly identify market trends and truly relevant new products. On the other hand, it provides an ideal setting for discussing challenges encountered on current projects with regular suppliers and partners.
“It’s an opportunity to reconnect with our partners, discuss our achievements, learn about their latest offerings, and also exchange ideas on very practical issues. The discussions are often just as rewarding as the products themselves.”
A source of inspiration across all areas of interior design
Lighting fixtures, flooring, wallpaper, electrical equipment, plumbing fixtures, air conditioning, furnishings, acoustic solutions, and commercial equipment: every aspect of interior design was represented.
This diversity allows the team to simultaneously support the residential, hotel, commercial, and service-sector projects that make up the firm’s day-to-day work.
Materials That Tell a Story
Among the highlights of this edition are decorative panels made from reclaimed wood. Assembled from various types of recycled wood, these compositions create original graphic patterns—sometimes geometric, sometimes inspired by plants. Each panel is unique thanks to the natural variations in the wood’s colors and textures.
Beyond their aesthetic appeal, these solutions reflect a fundamental shift: the growing use of reused materials in high-end projects, where uniqueness has become a true marker of value.
Acoustics and Engineering: Practical Solutions to Project Challenges
Certain innovations have impressed the team with their ability to solve recurring problems encountered on construction sites. This is particularly true of the new micro-perforated acoustic ceilings that are pre-painted at the factory. This solution preserves the product’s full acoustic performance while ensuring a perfectly uniform finish—whereas on-site painting can sometimes compromise the result.
Another notable discovery: suspended metal ceilings composed of colored slats of varying heights that can be oriented at different angles. This modularity opens up new architectural possibilities for lobbies, commercial spaces, hotels, and other public venues.
Innovation for Everyday Comfort
The bathroom sector was no exception, with several particularly ingenious solutions.
Among them was a multifunction faucet capable of dispensing cold, hot, boiling, filtered, or sparkling water from a single unit, as well as a bathroom cabinet featuring a mini-refrigerator designed to store cosmetics.
The team also discovered backlit mirrors whose lighting temperature and color are perfectly coordinated with the frame’s finishes, as well as a particularly compact wall-mounted toilet frame that optimizes space in the most confined areas.
Hotels, Offices: Ever More Flexible Solutions
Several innovations directly addressed the needs of hotel and commercial projects.
These included repositionable outlet systems mounted on technical rails for workspaces, remote-powered lighting solutions that simplify the installation of fixtures when electrical outlets are not ideally located, and HVAC systems that can be discreetly integrated into suspended ceilings.
All of these solutions illustrate a fundamental trend: making spaces more adaptable, more efficient, and easier to evolve over time.
Essential market research for envisioning the projects of tomorrow
Beyond the products on display, Architect@Work underscores the importance of staying constantly informed in the interior design profession.
Discovering innovations, understanding technical developments, engaging with manufacturers, and testing ideas against real-world conditions are all key factors that enable us to offer increasingly relevant solutions to the agency’s clients.
For Agence Amevet, this 2026 edition has once again demonstrated that innovation, technology, and creativity remain inseparable when it comes to designing spaces that are beautiful, functional, and sustainable.
