BAU · 2027

Agoris analysis · updated October 2026

Key takeaways

• BAU is the world's leading trade fair for architecture, materials and building systems. It takes place every two years (odd-numbered years) in Munich, organised by Messe München GmbH.
• Next edition: from 11 to 15 January 2027 at the exhibition grounds of the Messe München.
• 2025 results (final figures published on bau-muenchen.com and messe-muenchen.de): more than 180,000 visitors and 2,230 exhibitors from 58 countries, across 200,000 m² spread over 18 fully booked halls.
• Strong international reach: 52% of exhibitors came from abroad in 2025 (a record share according to the organiser), along with 44% of visitors.
• Sister fair to the construction and construction machinery trade fair bauma, also organised by Messe München on the same grounds.

Who exhibits

Typical profile

Manufacturers of building materials and systems, façades and the building envelope, joinery, roofing, insulation, finishing trades, and digital solutions for building planning and productivity. The visitor base brings together architects, planners, investors, developers, representatives from industry and trade, as well as the building trades.

Notable exhibitors

List of exhibitors on the official website: bau-muenchen.com. Exhibitors at the 2025 edition included GEZE, Hörmann, ERLUS, KLEUSBERG and ALHO Group (source: bau-muenchen.com).

Visitor quality

• More than 180,000 visitors in 2025, of whom 44% came from abroad
• 97% of visitors rated the fair "good to excellent" according to the survey by the Gelszus institute; 95% of exhibitors rated it "good to excellent" (source: messe-muenchen.de)

Events & community

Conference programme

The 2027 programme is built around four major themes announced by the organiser: materials and resources, climate protection and adaptation, the transformation of living spaces, and digitalisation and productivity. The 2025 edition featured keynotes from renowned architects, including Carlo Ratti, Satoshi Ohashi, Verena von Beckerath and Elisabeth Endres (2025 programme archived on bau-muenchen.com). The detailed 2027 programme will be published as the fair approaches.

Awards and accolades

Several awards are presented on site. Official titles:

• Innovation Award Architecture + Building, presented by the magazine AIT and AIT-Dialog in cooperation with Messe München GmbH
• BAKA Award - Award for Product Innovation, presented by the BAKA Bundesverband Altbauerneuerung e.V.
• Balthasar-Neumann-Prize, presented by Bauverlag / DBZ / BDB
• Auf IT gebaut - Bauberufe mit Zukunft, presented by the RG-Bau im RKW-Handelszentrum

2027 winners to be confirmed as the fair approaches (source: bau-muenchen.com).

On site: what you need to know

Access, parking and accommodation: see the Messe München listing.

Specific to the fair:

• Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 18:00 (source: bau-muenchen.com).
• Mobility: combined BAU Rail Special ticket for the train, airport shuttle during the fair and car-sharing incentives.
• Visitor badge: online ticketing, mobile scan at the entrance.

Planning your visit

For the exhibitor

• 12 months out: get in touch with Messe München, choose positioning by themed halls.
• 9 months out: apply for the Innovation Award Architecture + Building (AIT) to showcase a product innovation.
• 6 months out: prepare the stand with sustainable construction partners (meplan, Arno Design) and brief the demos.
• 3 months out: weave the major 2027 themes (resources, climate, living spaces, digitalisation) into the sales pitch.

For the decision-making visitor

• Register online in advance, mobile-scan badge.
• Allow 1 to 2 days to cover the 18 halls and 200,000 m².
• Target conferences and keynotes ahead of time: programme published several weeks before the fair.
• Favour the train via the BAU Rail Special ticket to reach the grounds.

Policy & CSR initiatives

Messe München publishes BAU's sustainability commitments on its Sustainability page. Concrete commitments on display: resource-efficient stand construction with partners meplan and Arno Design, recycling of assembly and dismantling waste and a revised materials recovery strategy, local and seasonal catering under the principle of "avoid rather than offset", and reduction of food waste.

On the visitor side: free water fountains for reusable cups and bottles, encouragement to reuse badge lanyards across multiple visits, digital ticketing (mobile scan), reduced paper printing in favour of digital formats, and mobility encouraged via the rail ticket and the airport shuttle. The organiser states verbatim that "no major event can be entirely sustainable", with the stated aim of acting in the most sustainable way possible. No ISO 20121 certification is mentioned to date (source: bau-muenchen.com/sustainability).

How the fair has evolved

Trajectory analysis

BAU confirms its status as the world's leading trade fair for architecture and materials. Despite a 2025 edition shortened by one day and a tense economic climate in the construction sector, the fair drew more than 180,000 visitors (compared with 190,000 in 2023) and 2,230 exhibitors from 58 countries, across 200,000 m² that were entirely booked. The share of international exhibitors reached a record 52%, a sign of an appeal that extends well beyond the German market. The 2027 edition, from 11 to 15 January at the Messe München, extends this positioning around four structuring axes: materials and resources, climate, the transformation of living spaces, and digitalisation. The 2027 target figures will be published as the fair approaches.

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