MAISON&OBJET Americas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/503691
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID GARY LLOYD/NEOX IMAGE T H E A M ER I CA S M&O M&O The United States, Canada, and Mexico produced $17 trillion worth of goods and services in 2010 under the North American Free Trade Agreement, while the Mercosur bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela, as well as the associate countries Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) accounts for 82.3 percent of South America's gross domestic product. Mercosur is the most dynamic and competitive economic zone in the Southern Hemisphere and the fourth largest economic bloc in the world in terms of trade volume. Municipal offi cials in Miami Beach are keen to help Maison&Objet Americas become one of the most suc- cessful trade fairs in the city's history. On a recent visit to Maison&Objet Paris, Philip Levine, the mayor of Miami Beach, expressed his enthusiasm for the fair to Les Echos , a French economic newspaper. "I wanted to stop and talk at all the stands," he said. "From the smallest to the largest, the mix of products is exciting. After this visit, I think that Miami Beach should build a convention center fi ve times larger." Levine's support for Maison&Objet Americas is so ardent, he arranged admission for the general public on the fair's last day and made sure that Miami Design Week would be held concurrently. "Maison&Objet is a kind of Olympic Games for lifestyle in Europe," he says. "We are America's lifestyle Super Bowl." Over the past 20 years, Maison&Objet has earned a reputation for its ability to capture the spirit of modern design movements with a broad vision encompassing the best in lifestyle trends around the world. The show embod- ies excellence and innovation while staying true to its core mission, which is to provide creative industries in particular geographic and economic sectors with a new way of doing business and boost local economies. As the fi rst major opportunity for the design spheres of North and South America to come together, to network, and to promote their practices to each other and countries around the world, Maison&Objet Americas will reinvent and reinvigorate this important and vital market segment locally and internationally. All of the elements are in place for an exciting adventure—although it will be an incredibly challenging one. But Maison&Objet is looking forward to that challenge with high expectations. The fair is sure to be a transformative event in the design world, as it creates a pan-American hub for business, art, and culture, brimming with creativity and enthusiasm for innovative design—all of it taking place in a city whose architectural ingenuity and daring continue to dazzle the world. Welcome to Miami, home of what's bound to be the globe's most celebrated new design fair, Maison&Objet Americas. —E.C. ■ The landmark 1111 Lincoln Road, designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. "Maison&Objet is a kind of Olympic Games for lifestyle in Europe. We are America's lifestyle Super Bowl." —PHILIP LEVINE, MAYOR OF MIAMI BEACH 42 M A I S O N - O B J E T. C O M