This focus at this year’s Chinaplas (www.chinaplas.com) – see Plasteurope.com from 14.03.2013 – is on the aesthetics and practicality of environmentally-friendly plastics in buildings. Green building has become a major topic of development in China and is being promoted through government policies. Running alongside the exhibition, is an event called “Archi-Light”, a concept using plastic building materials with varying degrees of transparency, giving differing visual effects as well as reducing energy consumption.

“Archi-Light” has several key areas it will be covering. At the top of the list is the futuristic building, “Archi-Light Concept House”, sponsored by Sabic (Riyadh / Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com), which showcases some of the company’s sustainable plastic materials. The house will also host two forums on plastics in architecture. There will also be a demonstration by the winners of a competition to design a building of the future. The four winning groups will showcase their models of a gymnasium, cafe, childcare centre and office building. Finally, there is a plastic building materials gallery which will include a light-transmitting wall made from a new material called i-light – a plastic resin and cement mix.

Chinaplas lasts four days, from 20-23 May 2013 in Guangzhou, China. The organisers anticipate more than 2,900 exhibitors from 38 countries will be taking part and they estimate more than 115,000 visitors to come through the exhibition doors. Online pre-registration is still open until Thursday,16 May.

Ahead of the global exhibition, Plasteurope.com and Chinaplas organiser Adsale are hosting a 1-day B2B conference, “Quality OEM Partnership and Environmentally Responsible Packaging”, at the Soluxe Hotel, Guangzhou, on Sunday,19 May. Anyone interested in participating in the event – whether as an audience member or as a sponsor – can find more details at www.pieweb.com/china-event.