Stylepark Interzum
Finding the right ingredients

From screws through to lightweight panels and intelligent foams: From May 16-19, 2017, the latest product innovations for interior fit-outs and furniture making will go on display at Cologne’s Interzum trade fair. In total, the organizers expect that given the good results with the last event they will likely welcome over 1,500 exhibitors from more than 60 countries – from market leaders through to small creative outfits. Arne Petersen, Section Managing Director at Koelnmesse, also promises there will be any number of new exhibitors, both from Germany and abroad.

Topics at the coming Interzum include sparing resources, sustainability, upcycling and the growing field of digitalization with 3D printing and product connectivity (the “Internet of Things”). Innovations here will presumably interest not only furniture makers and designers, but also architects, a target group the Interzum seeks to address more strongly in the form of special lounges, lectures and special zones for the “Innovation of Interior”.

“I find it very exciting that the Interzum is engaging more strongly with architects, as that’s extremely interesting for us. There are masses of innovations regarding surfaces that will play an ever more important role in our work. Precisely the trade fair’s innovative formats will lead to cross-over and reciprocity that we otherwise do not encounter in our daily work,” comments Peter Ippolito of architects Ippolito Fleitz Group, which has offices in Stuttgart, Berlin and Shanghai.

To make it easier to find your bearings at the fair and offer more space for the growing number of exhibitors, the hall layouts have been changed. Companies active in “Materials & Nature” are now located in Halls 4.2, 6 and 10.2. Everything relating to “Function & Components” such as lighting solutions, semi-finished products, fixtures, locks and installed furniture components will be on show in Halls 4, 5, 7 and 8. And the latest “Textile & Machinery” innovations can be found in Halls 9, 10.1 and 11.1/11.2.

Key developments in the three segments are on show in the respective “Piazzi”: special zones encouraging inspiration and interaction. For the “Materials & Nature” zone, Koelnmesse has again teamed up with trend consultant Kathrin de Louw, who will design no less than two piazzi (one in Hall 6, the other in Hall 10.2) on “Individuality”. The piazzi will be the venue for specialist lectures relating to design, color trends, technical norms and quality seals. Kathrin de Louw herself is giving a lecture with the intriguing title “Trend espresso”.

At the “Function & Components” piazza in Hall 4.2 materials researcher Sascha Peters takes “Circular Thinking” as the key to present the potential of recycled materials. And the topic will be addressed in depth on May 18 at the congress “Circular Thinking – from Upcycling to Biofabrication”.

Then there’s the “Textile & Machinery” piazza in Hall 10.1 where the focus is on “Mobile Spaces”, meaning furnishing cramped quarters, from mini-flats and autos to caravans. On show there will also be the “Tiny House”: a living space of only eight square meters and on wheels – not to be missed.

Another highlight will be the products that have won the “Interzum Awards”, now being hosted for the ninth time by Koelnmesse in cooperation with “Red Dot”. The winners will be on show in the walk-through cube on Messeboulevard. All the winners will also be presented at www.interzum-award.com. (mm)

Interzum
Furniture production Interiors
Koelnmesse, Cologne
May 16-19, 2017
Daily from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.