Last week interzum 2013 came to an end with very good results. The world’s biggest trade fair for suppliers to the furniture industry and interior finishing recorded a slight increase in visitor numbers compared to 2011 with around 53,000 visitors from 148 countries. The share of visitors from abroad was about 70 per cent. A clear rise in visitors from Asia, North America and Eastern Europe in particular was seen at interzum. “With the current growth in exhibitors and especially in international visitors, interzum again proved that it is the location worldwide that gives the market and thus the sector’s business its impetus”, was the summary from Katharina C. Hamma, Managing Director of Koelnmesse.

The 1,512 companies from 62 countries ensured a strong appeal this year. 391 of them came from Germany, while 1,121 arrived from abroad. With 266 companies Italy was mostly strongly represented, followed by Turkey with 101 companies. In total this results in an increase of 7 per cent compared to the previous event (2011: 1,412).

Also the exhibitors were very comfortable with the interzum: “This year’s interzum was one of the best we’ve ever experienced and reinforces it as the leading trade fair internationally for the supplier industry,” said Hubert Schwarz, Managing Director of Blum GmbH. “We were able to conduct interesting conversations with our customers and received a great deal of feedback, recognition and enthusiasm for our innovations and our concept studies.” And Christof Rauen, Managing Director of Resopal GmbH, remarks: “Interzum remains an outstanding platform for the industry. For Resopal it was again a complete success in 2013. The “Materials & Nature” trade fair concept provided us with the ideal set-up for introducing the new “Perspektiven > 2018″ collection. The quality and quantity of the audience exceeded our expectations. Resopal will be among the exhibitors once again in 2015.”

The interest of trade visitors in technical and design innovations was particularly great. Against the backdrop of a global increase in demand, the trend in all areas here is a reduced use of materials with consistent quality and a growing use of sustainable manufacturing components. This approach is observed in all segments: in cutting leather, when manufacturing upholstery and mattresses and in the wood materials area. When it comes to design, for instance for fittings, this goes hand in hand with a clear trend for reduced aesthetics. Superfluous additions are being dropped, reducing the product to its essential function.

Colours continue to arrive on the scene in the supplier products of the international furniture and furnishings industry. Decorations are offered in colour or with a graphic print – whether it’s for furniture, walls or floors. The demand side demands customised options. Just as colourful are the offers from fittings manufacturers when it comes to the inner life of kitchen, bathroom and living room furniture: colourful inserts, drawer structures and hinges point to a growing “love of detail”.

Further information:
www.interzum.com

Bridge is different. Bridge is versatile. With its adjustable arm and backrests and resting on filigree skids, Bridge by Brühl is set to bring a dash of colour to domestic living rooms in the form of pastel-coloured accents.

The clear contours and slightly rounded chrome skids signify a geometric style. The leather covers of the sofa cube, which also permit a black-and-white combination, as well as the partly pastel-coloured arm and backrests, express a certain sense of playfulness. And what’s more, Bridge is extremely adaptable too. In line with the “mix and match” principle, a few elements are all that’s needed to create various possibilities for sitting, sprawling, relaxing and lounging.

The basis for this playful approach to form and function is an upholstered lounger measuring 90 x 200 cm, broken down into smaller sections by narrow grooves for inserting armrests, backrests and table elements. Bridge can thus look like a sofa or a lounger, depending on the customer’s own ideas. It can create boundaries with a backrest in the middle or bring people together with a shared table element. The versatile accessories turn the piece of upholstered furniture into a very individual design element – for the lobby, the office or your own four walls.

Further information:
www.bruehl.com

Italian artist Sergio Perrero combines art and recycling to create highly emotional works with their own very special materiality. The decors created for Resopal are intended to turn art into a personal item of everyday use for the customer. He uses old textiles, patinated wood and used surfaces as the basis for creating diverse designs, each with its own characteristic pattern.

Photo: Resopal; Living Collection Sergio Perrero Legnorosso

With his artistic techniques, Sergio Perrero aims to transform imperfection into perfection and give the works a soul. The artistic diversity of his works provides a broad spectrum for designing highly individual spaces. If a customer selects a certain decor from the collection and buys at least 30 boards, he becomes the exclusive owner of that particular design. Once a design has been allocated to a customer, it is removed from the collection and replaced with a new one, ensuring that the “Living Collection”(which comprises 30 decors) is constantly changing and full of life.

Photo: Resopal; Living Collection Sergio Perrero Credo

Further information:
www.resopal.de

It looks like real concrete but is extremely easy to handle and weighs just 12.5 kilos per square metre. Its secret: a three-millimetre-thick coating of cement-bound recycled mineral fibres that conceals 16-millimetre-thick particle board coated with melamine resin.

With its porous, authentic formwork character, LightBeton from Richter Furniertechnik opens up a wide range of possibilities in interior architecture and design, trade fair construction, shopfitting and interior finishing. In addition, Richter promises simple processing with woodworking machinery – without trim losses or increased wear and tear on tools. The concrete surface can be equipped for use as flooring or in wet rooms and can also be optionally microperforated, turning LightBeton into an attractive and highly efficient sound absorber.

Further information:
www.richter-furniertechnik.de

Space-sculpting and modular – with lavish volumes, deep seats and opulent upholstery. Baden-Württemberg furniture producer Walter Knoll is launching an upholstery range characterised by its outstanding versatility: Yuuto.

Whether it’s used as a standalone sofa, a récamière or a corner configuration – the sofa Walter Knoll has developed in collaboration with Viennese design forge EOOS suits any type of lifestyle, from a small living room to a spacious loft. The designers call the system the Yuuto sofascape is based on “coussins indépendants” (“independent cushions”): a frame, tensioned straps and soft padding on top.

Each cushion is meant to seem like a sofa in its own right – and provide the corresponding degree of comfort. The manufacturer promises more than 140 different permutations that always lead to coordinated asymmetry. The result: a step-like structure that shows off the surface and volume. Thanks to its various heights and different materials, Yuuto is suitable for any interior.

The upholstered surfaces in natural fabrics are combined with armrests and ledges in sumptuous core leather, ensuring that the tablet PC or remote are always close at hand and the red wine and nibbles remain within easy reach when you settle down to relax for the evening.

Further information:
www.walterknoll.de

With furniture that oscillates between exotic charm and purist contours, Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien are bringing a new individuality to the world of interior design. “Some pieces are more Nipa, others are more me.” It’s hard to think of a more apt description of the young designer couple’s work than this sentence from Jonathan Levien. And these “things” are often unusually colourful “cultural hybrids” with emotional appeal. Their clients include Moroso, Cappellini, Tefal, Richard Lampert, Glass and Authentics.

Thus Doshi Levien’s teamwork is nurtured not just by their cultural differences but by their different understanding of design as well. Nipa is mainly concerned with the design of the outward appearance. Her almost ceremonial interpretation of the objects gives them a tangible, narrative quality. On the other hand Jonathan is more concerned with the development process and the materials.

It is not just a meeting between the Indian and European worlds, between male and female, but between the graphic and the functional, formal quality of design as well. The two designers don’t just combine different cultures; they mingle contrasting values, materials and ideas as well. This is very much in evidence in the Paper Planes armchair collection, a collaboration between Moroso and Swarovski. The fabric developed by Doshi Levien integrates the crystals unobtrusively so that they only become visible when they reflect the light. It forms the basis of the entire design, the structure of which was kept deliberately simple: a two-dimensional shape folded into a three-dimensional object.

And the Charpoy daybed with its graphically integrated game board for playing the ancient Indian version of chess (“Chaupar”) reveals another of Doshi Levien’s interests: the symbiosis of industrial production and artisanship, of intercultural dialogue and cultural identity. The daybed cultivates the design language of western-style purism, but cites Indian colour tradition. It also is a profession of faith in the skilled workmanship of Indian seamstresses as well. The seams are virtually invisible – that would be totally impossible if they were produced by machines. And with the embroidered date of production and the name of the seamstress, Doshi Levien also manages to build a bridge between the people who made the daybed and the people who use it.

In the framework of the Louis Kahn exhebition „The Power of Architecture“ at the Virta Design Museum the young design duo Doshi Levin will present its work, talk about intercultural references and explain, why Louis Kahn is an important source of inspiration for them.

TALK (EN) | 16. May 2013
18:00, Vitra Design Museum
Free entry, without notification

Virta Design Museum
Charles-Eames-Str. 2
D-79576 Weil am Rhein
T +49.7621.702.3200
www.design-museum.de

Although they work most of their time out of different countries, Lin Yi Hsien, Shih Hsiao Chun and Yeh Ting Wei from Taiwan-based design studio KIMU see themselves as a team. They are perfectionists, scatterbrains, artists and researchers – their creativity seems to stem from the differences between their characters. They simply have more fun working together than on their own. They communicate and “live” via the Internet – because, as they say in their joint statement, “three heads are better than one”.

Although the team lives entirely in the computer age, all three of its members regard “handwork” as indispensable: “Somehow a pencil is still the best tool for the initial sketches of your ideas. It’s hard to depict the world without a pencil.”

Kimo presented their work “New old Light” at the imm cologne 2013.

They see their participation in the imm cologne as an important milestone in the as yet still brief history of their design studio. “For us, it means a new start.” At the Cologne trade fair’s D3 platform, they were able to present a work by the name of “New old Light”, which unites contemporary design with traditional forms. Pulling down the lampshade transforms the soft ambient light into a direct spotlight. The design trio hopes that its products will find a home in spaces where users feel at ease – preferably in a setting that features other objects from different epochs and countries, designed in different styles. For the traditional lantern with the simple wooden lampshade is a mix of complex and simple forms, eastern and western styles, old and new aesthetics. “We’re always really enthusiastic about the way objects communicate with one another.”

The studio of Kimu in Taiwan.

Do you have any role models?
Not really, we tend to change our minds a lot.

How creative is Taiwan?
It’s still developing, but it will be making big waves in the future.

And what image does design have in Taiwan?
We think that, in Taiwan, design still very much belongs to the upper class. For the time being, it’s still hard for people to afford these so-called “design products”, or to imagine using them in their daily lives.

When do you think somebody can claim to be a “famous designer”?
If our products are well-known and liked by most people in the world – and especially by people who are not part of the creative industries – then we might be able to call ourselves “famous designers”.

Does design make people happy?
We think “making people happy” should be the fundamental goal of any design. Other than that, we hope people can be inspired by our design and try to discover the story hidden within it. And by the way: we’re always in a happy mood when we’re designing.

The three designers of Kimu are passionate flee market hunters.

Do your experiences as designers correspond to your expectations of the job when you started out?
At first, when we started our studio, we asked ourselves the same question and wondered what the future would hold for us. However, as the days go by, and with the experience of all the different cases we’ve worked on, it’s become clearer and clearer. This is what we want to do: we want to follow our hearts, share our design with the whole world and tell the world who “KIMU” is. We’re on our way, just as we expected.

Is there a design world beyond series production?
Yes, we think so. Actually, for us, series production is connected to the commercial world. And moreover, not every product is suitable for series production. We choose. It’s the product that tells us whether it’s suitable for series production, depending on its design and the idea behind it. If it’s not, then let’s keep it in the design world, away from series production.

What encourages greater creativity: a narrowly defined framework or total freedom?
We’ve tried many types of teamwork, and for us the best way is always brainstorming: we just keep chatting.

Why are there so many (design) things? Don’t we already have everything we need?
Yes, to be frank, we do already have everything we need. But those aren’t the things we really desire.

What really ought to be invented?
Something that reminds us to take the keys with us when we go out …

De Sede, the acclaimed swiss manufacturer of leather furniture, has chosen a new way to showcase the models from its collection: on the catwalk. Along with the supermodels on display, which have all been created by leading designers, will also be the intelligent TrI-Folds sofa, a piece born of the company’s collaboration with eCAL/University of Art in Lausanne.

The company’s new collection is the result of its collaboration with Gordon Guillamier and a number of new designers with whom it has worked for the first time: Angie Anakis, Werner Aisslinger and Christian Werner. This intensive cooperation has produced seven individual pieces that all have something in common; as de Sede CeO Kaspar Niklaus puts it: “de Sede has masterfully combined skilled craftsmanship, immaculate leather and timeless design”.

Visitors to imm cologne 2013 could have seen the truth of this for themselves. In a replica workshop with original equipment, an upholsterer has demonstrated how top-quality materials are processed and how one of the most popular of de Sede’s many masterpieces – the timeless Ds-51 easy chair – is sewn and upholstered. The company’s striking exhibition stand is decorated with emotive pictures illustrating the forty-year history of the Swiss furniture specialist.

Inspiration from young students at ECAL/University of Art Lausanne
De sede has developed a series of furniture together with students from the University of Art (eCAL) in Lausanne. A number of very promising pieces were created in a workshop headed by lecturer and designer Nicolas Le Moigne. One of these was presented by de sede at the Cologne exhibition: the intelligent TrI-Folds sofa conceived by 24-year-old Camille paillard, which boasts a low-key design that makes interesting use of the armrests. “Collaboration with the de Sede Design Team enabled me to develop the sofa right up to production of a prototype. When I learned that de sede was going to be showing my sofa at the fair, I nearly freaked out! I like de Sede a lot because they retain traditional manufacturing techniques while always offering exciting modern design,” explained the student.

The laying method of “tile on tile” is well-known. Besides this advantage, however, the new, only 5 mm thin Flatile tiles of Agrob Buchtal are predestined above all for replacing other types of covering by a high-quality ceramic solution.

Floor and wall coverings lend rooms their characteristic look, as they cover a large part of all surfaces. Ceramic tiles have always been a first-class choice for this: they combine functionality and aesthetics as well as ecology and economy. These aspects are also convincing at the renovation of existing buildings. For this, the renowned brand Agrob Buchtal offers new, only 5 mm thin tile series, which are subsumed under the generic term of Flatile. With this novelty, carpet, laminate, PVC, linoleum, plaster, wallpapers etc. can be quickly replaced by a high-quality ceramic covering. The remarkable thing about it is not only that the construction height is reduced, but there are also impressive material-specific advantages in addition: the tiles intentionally are not made of porcelain stoneware, as this sort of tiles is extremely hard – a property which is positive in general but makes particular demands on cutting and laying especially in case of low thickness. Instead of it, Flatile tiles consist of extruded stoneware, which combines high breaking strengths (almost twice as high as required according to the relevant standard) and easy processability.

This is realized by special raw material compositions and precise kiln control at firing. The easy processability is relevant because several drill holes, cuts or openings are required for shelves, projections and recesses, embrasures, heating pipes, electrical outlets etc. in the case of renovations. Another advantage is the low weight: a 40x60cm tile weighs only 2.7 kg. This facilitates the handling and reduces the static loads, which are important especially in old buildings. As already mentioned, Flatile tiles permit the replacement of other types of covering with almost the same height, but also thresholds and other differences in height can be adjusted more easily. In addition, the innovation is ideal in combination with underfloor heating, as the healthy radiant heat is effective even more rapidly.

The Flatile series offer stylistic variety thanks to an extensive range of colours, decorations and formats. The spectrum extends from the filigree mosaic up to the representative size of 40×80 cm, which lends even small rooms and surfaces a generous look. The use is possible both on the floor and on the wall, so that comprehensive room concepts can be realized. The absolute highlight is the “HT” coating applied in-plant, which lends these ceramic tiles special characteristics: they are extremely easy to clean, have an antibacterial effect without using chemical products and eliminate unwelcome odours or air pollutants. FLATILE of Agrob Buchtal is available in the tile specialized trade or via your trusted tiler.

Für further information you can download the brochure here oder you can go to:
www.flatile.de

Maria Bruun is one of those designers for whom a pencil is more than just a nice accessory. In her eyes, nothing compares with a personal sketch: “The pencil creates personality and helps us tell stories.” The Danish designer feels very much at home in her little studio in Christianshavn, the artists’ quarter of Copenhagen. “For me, the charismatic architecture of the backyard studio on the canal is an oasis in the heart of the city.” She mostly travels around town on her bike. And that, she says, is when the best ideas come to her.

One of those ideas is the modular storage system by the name of Invader that Bruun was invited to present at the imm cologne in the context of the D3 Contest competition. When she was working on the Invader concept, she used 30 test subjects as a basis for analysing how people really live and what “home” means to them. For no matter how small their home might be, most people collect a wealth of things that are important to them over the course of their lives: memories, practical things or media. “All these collected objects show who we are – or at least who we want to be,” says the young designer of her underlying hypothesis. That is why her design is based on the needs of its users, on their way of life and on how the way they collect things tells stories. Invader provides modular flexibility and a wide range of space solutions, can double as a room divider – on castors – and allows things to be displayed openly or stored out of sight. The stackable modules come in three sizes and provide three basic types of storage space: drawer, cabinet and surface. In addition, extendable elements mean Invader can keep adapting to changing circumstances.

With her work, Bruun wants to convey a dash of humour, surrealism and poetry and tell a story. She is constantly working on models and experimenting with colours, shapes and materials. Or fiddling away at artistic little objects totally devoid of function. “But secretly I believe that new ideas evolve during these processes.”

Can you still remember the concrete situation in which the idea for your product came to you?
Sometimes creative ideas come out of the blue, when you envision a finished result as soon as the idea pops into your head. Other ideas evolve over time, when a fascinating idea, dilemma, shape or material generate curiosity about the possibilities hidden within them. Then the idea is pushed even further over time. Creating the Invader family was an idea that evolved over time. Its design is the result of my fascination for personal stories, functionality, trolleys and flexibility.

How creative is Denmark?
I find that Denmark is a very creative country. We Danes are proud of our design heritage and especially of our modernist designers like Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjærholm. Furthermore, genius craftsmen like Wegner and Klint and exciting provocateurs like Poul Henningsen still play a great part in the international design scene when we speak about Scandinavian design. However, I believe there is also a new, upcoming generation of Scandinavian designers and design brands that are determined to create new value, provocative design and quality for the future. They can benefit and learn from the masters of the past – but they intend to produce and create for the future.

What image does design have in Denmark?
Danish design is often categorized along with the rest of Scandinavia as Scandinavian design or as a Nordic aesthetic. I think the Nordic design DNA is an understanding of minimalism, craftsmanship, detail and functionality.

What type of worker are you: a) a perfectionist, b) chaotic c) an inspired genius, d) industrious/ a workaholic, e) a darling of fortune / the hit and miss type, f) an early riser, g) a night owl? (multiple answers possible)
I’m happy that I can give multiple answers as there is no one simple answer to a question like this. In the beginning of my design process I tried to be c): an inspired genius. This often led to a big pile of sketches, ideas and concepts – also referred to as b): chaotic. As my work has evolved, I have become more like d): industrious/ a workaholic – in order to create structure. But I still end up being g): a night owl, because I am a): a perfectionist. Thank God for multiple personalities!

Does design make people happy?
I would say that design makes people happier. Almost every designer works with user-centred and empathic design, where research and testing with target groups plays a major role in the development process. The choices that a designer makes regarding colour, shape, structure etc. are decisions that essentially affect the users. A good design builds and expands on the expectations of the users, but at the same time it breaks with their expectations. That surprising element stimulates reflection, growth and development. That small moment is where we as designers communicate directly with the users and create value.

What does your appearance at the imm cologne mean to you?
Being a part of the imm cologne was a great honour. When I received the email I was proud to be selected as one of the lucky exhibitors, because I knew that my fellow applicants displayed some amazing new design.

Are there any tips you would give other young designers?
Trust your instincts and learn to communicate your design through sketching and modelling. Work on the projects that excite you. And finally, hold on to what makes you unique: whether it’s your process, design skills or personal aesthetics – keeping your character is crucial.

Why are there so many (design) things? Don’t we already have everything we need?
Every day is different. Times change and our role as designers is to follow the development. So no, we don’t have everything we need, because needs are changing all the time.

Is striving for sustainability just a fashion or a permanent influence in design?
In my opinion sustainability should be a concern for all designers. However, the term is multifaceted. Sustainability is not only responsibility in concepts, materials or production methods; sustainability can also mean design products with an enduring quality that withstands changing times and tastes.

Further information:
www.mariabruun.com