Organised by ARCHITECT@WORK Headquarters, based in Kortrijk, Belgium, the event is part of an international circuit operating across 31 cities in 16 European countries. Originally launched in Belgium, the format has been active in Poland for several editions, with the most recent preceding Warsaw edition held in Gdańsk. Attendance is free of charge for qualified professionals but requires prior registration with an invitation code.

Format and Concept

Architect at Work deliberately differentiates itself from conventional trade fairs through a curated, compact format. Exhibitors present innovative products, materials, applications, and services within uniform stand units. Each product or service must pass approval by a judging panel of architects and interior designers before being shown on the floor, guaranteeing that all content on display has been assessed for genuine innovation. The event operates on a strict invitation-only policy: the audience is limited exclusively to architects, interior designers, technical planners, engineers, project developers, and building industry decision-makers. No general public access is permitted.

Visitors are guided through the exhibition floor along a designed route that leads through the stand units. Aisles between stands are converted into lounge areas with continuous free catering for both visitors and exhibitors. The two-day format is intentionally compact, designed to allow thorough coverage of all innovations without the time demands of a multi-day large-scale fair.

Theme: Reflexion

The 2026 Warsaw edition is themed “Reflexion.” The organisers frame the theme as an invitation to pause before adding something new to the world, asking whether each architectural intervention is necessary, considered, and aware of its surroundings. The theme positions architecture as shared responsibility rather than individual expression, with each stand functioning as a reflective surface revealing both creative potential and consequential choices. The theme connects to a broader current in European architectural discourse around restraint, adaptive reuse, and the ethics of building in an already densely built environment.

Exhibitor Categories

Products and solutions on the floor span the full specification range: carcass and building envelope including exterior joinery, facades, exterior cladding, insulation, roof construction, load-bearing structures, and drainage; building systems including fixed lighting, sanitary ware, heating, air conditioning, electrical controls, plumbing, and renewable energy; and interior finishing including interior layout and design, floor coverings, wall coverings, partition walls and ceilings, paints, adhesives, and door fittings. Concurrent events at EXPO XXI during the same period include Ceramika Expo and the Warsaw Book Fair.

Event Details

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

Architect at Work is one of the most intelligently conceived trade fair formats operating in Europe. Its central proposition, that product innovation should be pre-vetted by a professional judging panel before reaching the show floor, distinguishes it sharply from exhibitions where commercial floor space determines what architects encounter. The result is a curated, compact event where every product present has at minimum passed a credibility filter. The invitation-only admission policy further ensures that exhibitors are genuinely meeting their target audience rather than a mixed general public. The free catering in lounge-format aisles is a deliberate spatial strategy that slows the pace of the visit and encourages longer conversations between architects and technical advisers. The two-day format reflects a sophisticated understanding of how professional time works: it is brief enough to justify attending even for busy practitioners, and dense enough to be worthwhile. The 2026 “Reflexion” theme is well-chosen for the current moment in European architectural practice, where questions of necessity, restraint, and adaptive reuse have moved from marginal to central. For architects and interior designers based in Poland or the Central European region, A@W Warsaw is the most efficiently structured product specification event available locally.

Conclusion

Architect at Work Poland 2026 runs 27-28 May 2026 at EXPO XXI Warsaw, Hall 1, from 11:00 to 18:00. Admission is free for architects and specifiers with an invitation code. To request a code contact warsaw@architectatwork.com. Full information at architectatwork.pl.