Architect@Work Nantes · 2026

Agoris analysis · updated October 2026

Key takeaways

• Architect@Work Nantes is not an open trade show: it is an invitation-only event, reserved for architects, interior architects and other construction specifiers. The products on display are innovations selected by a jury, in a concept devised by the agency Creative Fo(u)r, in which exhibitors occupy uniform modules and the aisles are laid out as lounge areas.
• Next edition: the 7th Nantes edition, from Thursday 19 to Friday 20 November 2026, 10am to 7pm, in Hall XXL of the Parc des Expositions de La Beaujoire. Chosen theme: "TRANSFORMATIONS".
• Organiser: Expo Conseil, based in Lille and listed by the Belgian group Xpo Group among its companies for France; Architect@Work is part of the group's event portfolios. Xpo Group itself came under the control of Easyfairs Belgium on 31 July 2026.
• Biennial frequency: the concept is present every two years in Nantes, in even-numbered years, in November. The French network also includes editions in Paris, in Lyon, in Marseille and in Bordeaux.
• Results of the latest edition, in November 2024: 2,168 in-person visitors, against 2,371 in 2022, 100 manufacturers present and 300 selected products. The organiser attributes the decline to the storm that disrupted the first day.
• As of 3 October 2026, the official list for the 2026 edition counts 46 exhibitors, and the organiser says that a few places remain.

Who exhibits

Typical profile

Industrial companies and manufacturers of products for building and interior fit-out, coming to present their new products to the specifiers who include them in their projects. The innovations are sorted into four families on the organiser's platform: technical equipment, building envelope and structural work, interior finishing, and software and digital services. According to the organiser's exhibitor brochure, participation is restricted to manufacturers with national distribution and to exclusive national distributors.

The selection principle shapes the offering: only innovations chosen by a jury of architects and interior architects are exhibited. A manufacturer therefore does not come to present its catalogue, but a few recent products. According to the exhibitor FAQ, it is not necessary to know which innovations will be presented at the time of registration.

Notable exhibitors

The official 2026 exhibitor list shows 46 companies as of 3 October 2026, with their stand numbers. Thirty-four are declared in France; twelve are declared in Italy (4), Germany (2), Spain (2), Belgium (2), Austria (1) and Luxembourg (1).

Notable names include Blum, Bega, Cosentino, Delabie, Egger Panneaux & Décors, Kronospan, Interface, Equitone, Rockpanel, Simonswerk, Solarlux, Franke, Gessi, Schlüter Systems, Unilin Flooring - Quick-Step, Tecsound by Soprema, Oberflex, Vescom, Intuis, Bolon by Artepy and Les Robinets Presto. The list was not closed as of 3 October 2026.

Visitor quality

Access is reserved for architects, interior architects and other construction specifiers, by invitation only. The organiser's exhibitor brochure, common to all Architect@Work events, cites eight visitor categories: architects; interior architects; designers and interior fitters; engineers, design offices and urban planners; other construction specifiers; teachers and students; public-sector project owners; property developers. It gives no breakdown in figures. Admission is free after online registration with the code shown on the invitation. Final-year students in architecture and interior architecture are welcome; without an invitation code, they need to contact the organiser via the contact form.

The 2024 edition welcomed 2,168 in-person visitors, and 685 people had followed it online at the date of the results release, to view the exhibitors' innovations or follow the conferences live or on replay. The organiser presents it as an event that specifiers in the region look forward to. No OJS certification or third-party audit of attendance is published.

Programme & community

Conference programme

The conference programme for the 2026 edition is published: eight sessions in French, four per day, at 11am, 1.30pm, 3pm and 5pm. The theme of the edition is "TRANSFORMATIONS": the theme page presents it as an invitation to build on what already exists rather than erase it, against a backdrop of ecological emergency.

On Thursday 19 November, the agency AIA Life Designers opens with "Comment transformer nos stratégies pour adapter notre cadre de vie face aux crises systémiques?" (How can we transform our strategies to adapt our living environment in the face of systemic crises?), followed by a session by the FCBA titled "Cocorico - Innovations locales, résilience globale" (Cocorico - Local innovations, global resilience), the same name as the exhibition presented below, which highlights French companies, a conference titled "Pacte Bois & Biosourcés : quand la maîtrise d’ouvrage transforme l’acte de construire et de rénover" (Timber and Bio-based Materials Pact: when project ownership transforms the act of building and renovating), and a round table organised by the association Ardepa, with the agencies Figura and Loom architecture, under the title "Sujets de transformation" (Subjects of transformation).

Friday 20 November features "Transformer : et si nous apprenions à coopérer avec le vivant ?" (To transform: what if we learned to cooperate with the living world?), a conference organised by Novabuild with, among others, the agency D'ICI LA paysages & territoires, then "Matériaux bio/géo intégrés, le nouvel atout pour l’architecture saine et durable" (Integrated bio/geo-based materials, the new asset for healthy and sustainable architecture), a conference organised by the Collectif des Terreux Armoricains, and finally a session by the agency canal architecture whose title was not displayed as of 3 October 2026.

By way of comparison, the 2024 programme, built around the theme "ARCHITECTURE / CLIMAT / ENVIRONNEMENT" (architecture / climate / environment), brought together speakers from agencies such as Alt R Architecture, Studiolada and Phytolab, as well as the Innovathèque and a Novabuild conference.

Exhibitions and related events

The 2026 edition page announces four related events. The materials exhibition "COCORICO - Innovations locales, résilience globale", presented by the Centre de Ressources Innovathèque of the FCBA, brings together materials, processes and systems that are 100% made in France. "MATERIA architectures", co-produced by the Pavillon de l'Arsenal, Les Grands Ateliers, amàco and the Association ouvrière des Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France, shows 40 eco-constructions in earth, stone and plant fibres selected as part of the Materia Award.

Also featured are the selection of the Jeunes Architectes et Paysagistes Ligériens (Young Architects and Landscape Architects of the Loire region), JAPL 2025, the fifth edition of an honours list backed by Ardepa, the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Nantes and the Union Régionale des CAUE, and the presence of the Coiffard bookshop, which offers a selection of new titles on architecture and design on site.

No prize-giving specific to the event is announced on the edition page: selection by the jury serves as the quality filter.

Community & networks

The partners shown on the edition page are Unsfa Loire-Atlantique (the architects' union), UNAID (Union Nationale des Architectes d'Intérieur, Designers), the Innovathèque, L'Ameublement français and the agency Creative Fo(u)r, which devised the event's concept. The presence of the departmental Unsfa and of the selection of young Loire-region architects confirms the regional anchoring of the edition.

On the press side, the page lists eighteen media partners, including AMC, D'A, Archistorm, Archicrée, Exé, Batiactu, Batiweb, Architecture Bois, Séquences Bois, 5 Façades, Formae, L'Agenceur and Verre & Menuiserie.

Architect@Work presents itself as the largest architectural community in Europe: the official calendar lists editions in 13 European countries. Specifiers have an online platform, A@W Xperience, which extends the event: innovations, contacts and conferences live or on replay.

On site: what you need to know

For parking, accommodation and on-site services, see the venue page: Parc des Expositions de Nantes. The event occupies Hall XXL, route de Saint-Joseph de Porterie, 44300 Nantes.

By tram, line 1 links the city centre directly to the Beaujoire terminus, which serves the park's main entrance, or to the Ranzay stop, which gives access to entrance 2. The park is also served by Chronobus C6 and bus line 75 at the Beaujoire stop, and by line 80 at the Batignolles stop. The TGV station is 15 minutes away on line 1; Nantes Atlantique airport is 25 minutes away, with a shuttle to the station and then the tram. By car, from Angers or Paris via the A11, take the Carquefou-Boisbonne-La Beaujoire exit; via the ring road, gate 40 "Porte de la Beaujoire". The 5,000 parking spaces around the park are free, with a maximum height of 2 metres. On foot or by bike, the park can be reached via the paths running along the Erdre.

The event is open from 10am to 7pm on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 November 2026. The organiser advises printing your badge for quick access. Snacks and drinks are offered free of charge to visitors. To obtain an invitation code, the Practical information page gives the address nantes@architectatwork.com.

How much it costs to exhibit

Preparing your visit

For the exhibitor

• Register early: the FAQ mentions an early bird rate for sponsorship packs, and the choice of the innovations to be presented can be made after registration.
• Weigh standard conditions against premium conditions, depending on the risk of cancellation.
• Choose products with the jury in mind: put forward innovations rather than a full range, since only innovations approved by a jury of architects and interior architects are exhibited and the organiser says they are presented for the first time live at its events.
• Mobilise your own network of specifiers: access is by invitation only, and the organiser's exhibitor brochure mentions free invitations for exhibitors, with a dashboard tracking paper and digital invitations.
• For a manufacturer targeting the whole of France, link Nantes with Architect@Work Paris, which is held four weeks earlier, on 21 and 22 October 2026.

For the specifier visitor

• Request your invitation code if you have not received one, then register online and print your badge.
• Plan your visit around the programme: four conferences per day, at 11am, 1.30pm, 3pm and 5pm.
• Prefer tram line 1 from the centre or the station; by car, parking is free.
• Keep the A@W Xperience platform for after the show: the innovations and the conferences remain available to view there.

CSR policy & initiatives

At venue level, the commitment is the most verifiable. The Parc des Expositions de Nantes has held ISO 20121 certification, the standard for responsible event management, since 2016, with renewals in 2023 and 2025, over a scope that includes hosting professional events. According to the park, it had been in 2010 the first exhibition park in Europe to be ISO 14001 certified.

At group level, Xpo Group states an ambition to be CO₂-neutral by 2035 and details actions on its Kortrijk campus in Belgium: heat pumps, LED lighting, 4,010 solar panels. These measures concern its own site, not the Nantes park. The group's move under Easyfairs' control, in July 2026, could change this framework.

At event level, the Architect@Work website publishes neither a formalised CSR policy, nor a carbon footprint assessment, nor an ISO 20121 certification specific to the Nantes edition. Eco-construction is, however, at the heart of the content: the theme "TRANSFORMATIONS", conferences on bio-based and geo-based materials and on the timber pact, and exhibitions on earth, stone and plant fibres. This is programming, to be distinguished from an organisational commitment.

How the trade show has evolved

Trajectory analysis

The 2022 and 2024 editions were held in the same place, at the same time of year, on a Thursday and Friday in the second half of November, and the 2026 edition is scheduled to the same calendar. In-person attendance sits between 2,000 and 2,400 visitors: 2,371 in 2022, 2,168 in 2024, i.e. 203 fewer (-8.6%). The organiser explains the 2024 drop by a storm that struck on the first day, when pre-registrations were numerous; no other data makes it possible to decide the matter.

On the supply side, the 2022 announcement targeted more than 350 new products and at least 120 manufacturers; the 2024 results release reports 300 products and 100 manufacturers. The two figures are not of the same nature, an announcement on one side, a results release on the other: they do not make it possible to measure a change. As of 3 October 2026, the 2026 edition shows 46 exhibitors.

The most useful reading lies in the network calendar. Since 2022, Nantes (even-numbered years) and Bordeaux (odd-numbered years) have followed one another a year apart: for a manufacturer, this gives one specifier-focused event each year in the west and south-west of France, in a different city from one year to the next.

Finally, the theme has moved from "L'ARCHITECTURE DU BON SENS" (the architecture of common sense) in 2022 to the architecture, climate and environment triptych in 2024, then to the transformation of the existing in 2026. Nantes editions prior to 2022 are not documented in the sources consulted. The 8th edition was not dated as of 3 October 2026; the biennial rhythm would place it in 2028.

All data not attributed to a source comes from the organiser's website.

Unless otherwise stated, all factual data in this listing comes from the organiser's official website (architectatwork.com).