What does the home of the future look like? How will we furnish our homes in future? What materials and functions shape the design and architecture of tomorrow? The upcoming interzum event offers all kinds of inspiration for those who want to know more about the trends and innovations that will shape the way we live in future. From 21 to 24 May 2019, the leading international trade fair in Cologne presents new possibilities in furniture and interior design. Pioneering materials and innovative new technologies are the focus for exhibitors. With a range of special exhibitions, the trade fair also explores global megatrends such as individualisation, living in small spaces, mobility and digitalisation. The leading industry platform is thereby an important source of inspiration for designers, architects, product developers and other planners.
Lifestyles are becoming more diverse, individualised, mobile and connected. With this transformation in our living and working environments comes a change in furnishing. Traditional living areas have been enhanced: the kitchen has become a living space in its own right; the bathroom has long been more than a place to wash; and we increasingly expect public spaces such as offices to be cosy. As a result, we now have greater expectations in terms of the durability, functionality and sustainability of furniture. At the same time, living in small spaces is an increasingly important topic due to the growth of mega-cities around the world. Digital technologies are being incorporated into our everyday lives, changing ways of living and working. Questions about the future of our living environments are therefore becoming ever more pressing. What new possibilities do innovative materials offer with regard to aspects of functionality, technology and sustainability? How do technical components increase comfort and convenience in the home? How can individual pieces of furniture or whole rooms be intelligently connected? What new solutions are available for increasing mobility or for living in small spaces?
Answers to all these questions can be found at the upcoming interzum trade fair, where international exhibitors provide exclusive insights into the trends that will shape our living and working spaces in future. The innovations presented at the trade fair are often on display for an international audience for the first time ever. A number of exhibitors present pioneering innovations or their own trend studies, thereby offering designers and architects valuable inspiration for their work. Product innovations from the fields of materials and surfaces, textiles, furniture components, and lights and lighting systems play a particularly important role. The spectrum of topics connected in this way includes new function processes in the home, lightweight construction solutions for mobile and immobile spaces, and smart interior concepts.
Despite, or perhaps due to, the growth of digital media, materials and feel are increasingly gaining in importance. Today, innovations in the field of materials play a key role in the design of living and working spaces. Innovative materials bring new qualities to rooms and furnishings, they make them more functional, more flexible and smarter. This is where interzum comes to the fore, presenting a huge range of new materials and applications. Designers and architects can learn first-hand about new developments in the materials industry. Be it high-tech or digitally printed surfaces, natural veneers or composite materials made of renewable raw materials – the spectrum of innovations presented at the trade fair is the most extensive you’ll see anywhere worldwide. Exhibitors show new possibilities for furniture and interiors arising from developments in lightweight construction, and demonstrate how a new understanding of mobility is influencing the design of vehicles. The potential of recycling and upcycling is examined at the trade fair, as is that of 3D printing and other forward-looking production processes.
Creativity is often expressed in the details. Components such as metal fittings or recessed luminaires also expand the range of design possibilities for furnishings. With intelligent furniture technology that rethinks and improves traditional functions, the home becomes more comfortable and flexible. In this area too, interzum offers the supplier industry an opportunity to present its phenomenal innovative capability. Exhibitors show first innovations, from which product and interior designers develop their designs in turn – from furniture fittings for new storage solutions to LED lamps that can be controlled with speech or gestures.
With international exhibitors from the furniture supply industry and interior construction, interzum covers the whole spectrum of the global market. This is where trends and innovations that directly influence the design and architecture of tomorrow are revealed. In the coming year the trade fair will continue to grow, and a new hall allocation will give it an improved structure. Koelnmesse expects more than 1,800 exhibitors for the 2019 edition – from market leaders to small creative teams. Pioneering innovations are presented in the three segments “Materials & Nature”, “Function & Components” and “Textile & Machinery”. It is precisely this diversity in the products and solutions exhibited that makes interzum such an important source of inspiration for the design of future living spaces – and thereby an inexhaustible pool of ideas for designers, architects and other creatives.