PIEDRA 2004

April 5, 2004

   PIEDRA 2004 will bring an anticipated 25,000 attendees to Madrid’s Juan Carlos I Exhibition Centre on May 5-8. And, while the majority of those at the show will be from Spain, plenty of other countries will be represented.
   More than 435 companies are set to exhibit at the event, with the 259,862 ft²/24,142 m² exhibit area completely filled – in fact, the show sold out before the end of last year. It marks another session of growth for the event, which is promoted by the Spanish Natural Stone Federation and organized by IFEMA Feria de Madrid,
   The exhibits will stretch through four exhibit halls, up from three halls for the last PIEDRA in May 2002. The new layout will allow for more exhibits and larger booth areas, with machinery/tools dominating two halls and natural stone taking the spotlight in the other two.
   PIEDRA 2004 will also feature companies from all over the world. Direct international participation represents 32 percent of the exhibition total, with 134 direct exhibitors from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Korea, Mauritania, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States.
   U.S. exhibitors are geared for serving the Spanish market, but PIEDRA can be enlightening for learning about stone sources and quarrying/fabrication equipment that’s native to Spain.
   With Spanish participation, PIEDRA 2004 will once again present the most comprehensive business representation of the main Spanish regions of production, including group participation on the part of areas such as Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia, Castile-Leon, Extremadura, Galicia and Murcia.
   The event also becomes part of a focus on architectural and residential design, as the VETECO show for windows and glass structures runs simultaneously in the exhibition area’s other main halls.
   To encourage use and knowledge of natural stone from Spain, PIEDRA organizers will present the PIEDRA 2004 Architecture Awards. It’s open to any architectural project carried out in any part of the world, provided that Spanish natural stone was either partially or entirely used in the construction of the building.
   The awards jury will consider two categories of entries: completed works presented by architects, and projects presented by architecture students. In both cases, the judges will focus especially on the unique nature, innovation, implementation techniques and aesthetic appeal of the works in question.
   A jury made up of architecture and design professionals will examine the projects and announce their decision of the winning entries during the course of PIEDRA 2004. The winner of the Architecture Award receives a cash prize of €6,000, and the winner of the Architecture Student Award gets €1,000. The jury will also name three runners-up in each category, chosen from among the works presented.
   Madrid’s own wealth of stone architecture makes the city a natural for the exhibition – and the city itself provides plenty of attractions beyond PIEDRA 2004 itself.
   Among the highlights in Madrid are the three major art museums – the Museo del Prado that mainly covers art through the 18th century (with plenty of marble statuary and stunning interior work), the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza for the 1800s to early 1900s with some old masters and 20th century pop-art for historical bookends, and the Centre de Arte Reina Sofia for modern works (including Picasso’s Guernica.)
   Not only are the museums literally packed with some of the world’s greatest art; entry prices are phenomenally low at less than €4 for each museum, and a Paseo del Arte ticket gets you a single admission into all of them for €7.66.
   Other sites featuring plenty of interesting stonework includes the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), as well as a number of large churches – most notably the Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena. The Plaza Mayor is a central site to people-watch in downtown Madrid.
   While tickets are scarce, Madrid’s successful Real Madrid soccer team will be in town immediately after PIEDRA 2004 on May 9 to play Mallorca. Madrid’s other main sporting attraction – the bullfights – won’t be in town until the next week, as part of the citywide Festival of San Isidro.
   Recent events – notably the March 11 tragedy with terrorist train bombings – shouldn’t discourage a visit or use of public transport in Madrid. A long history of security awareness, sparked by bombings associated with the Basque separatist movement ETA, places an emphasis on safety in Madrid and throughout Spain.
   Getting around Madrid – and PIEDRA – is doable by car and taxi, although the quickest way is by the city’s Metro subway. For less than $1.50 a ride, the system moves through downtown, connects to Madrid Barajas Airport, and includes the Campo de las Naciones stop that’s right at the entrance to the exhibition center. And, for less than $7, a Metrobur ticket includes 10 subway rides.
   Barajas is the main air connection to Madrid. U.S. carriers serving the airport with direct flights include American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways; Spanish carrier Iberia also flies direct from selected U.S. airports.