This year's Home Trend and Design Exhibition at the Műcsarnok features a line-up of big-name exhibitors, but fails to achieve a sense of harmony. The exhibition is certainly evidence of an increasing interest in design in the capital, but it lacks direction: the spaces are neither entirely minimalist nor entirely high-tech. And when one steps out of one space and into another, it feels as if it requires a change of clothes to fit the style. The Műcsarnok has done much, perhaps too much, to ensure the success of this year's exhibition with design that sometimes seems out of place. Even the exhibition's main attraction, 360° Budapest, a big development project in the north of the capital, was pared down to just four design areas.
There are some gems to be found in the exhibition, however, notably the kitchen display by the French designer Ora Ito. Its streamlined contours remind one of a cosy cave, but at the same time offer a frame for urban life.
