There is no standard solution for the future As the “world’s leading trade fair for architecture, materials, systems” BAU in Munich offers a wealth of information for architects, planners and anyone with an interest in today’s building solutions, or tomorrow’s. That said, this time round highly customizable standard solutions took center stage while true innovation remained scarce.

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Flooring as an artwork and design object The times when flooring led an existence as the Cinderella of the interior design world are over. The whole industry has discovered its creative side and carpeting has received something of an image makeover over the past few years. But wooden and laminate flooring aren’t far behind. This year, Domotex in Hanover even put on a special show on its leading theme “Flooring Deluxe”, curated by designer Stefan Diez.



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Design for all! At this year’s “Maison&Objet” in Paris the focus was on more than just tradition and craftsmanship. Another trend we noted: in an attempt to address a wider audience, design manufacturers demonstrated an increasing consideration of new product categories in the areas of accessories.

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Aestheticizing the seemingly imperfect During imm Cologne, the Museum für Angewandte Kunst opened a special kind of exhibition: “Isn’t it romantic? – Contemporary Design Balancing between Poetry and Provocation”. An homage to the longing for a world that isn’t always perfect.

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Take the effort out of cooking Touch-screen displays, adjustable work surfaces, sensor-controlled coffee making: “Living Kitchen”, the biennial fair parallel to imm Cologne, presented technology as an aid to a better life.. A vision that even proves rather convincing on occasion.

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The Barcelona Pastiche The imm Cologne is swiftly getting back on an even keel. And how are designers and manufacturers making use of the opportunity? A tour of the trade fair shows that they often resorted to the tried-and-true, reanimating and dressing it up for contemporary use. Even Konstantin Grcic opted for a tongue-in-cheek approach to a design classic.

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A creative oasis among the hustle and bustle “Featured Editions” developed by the imm Cologne in collaboration with Stylepark and premiering at this year’s fair presented a broad spectrum of concepts that were both creative and artistic. The new format saw a positive response from exhibitors and visitors alike – plans for the next installment in 2014 are already in the pipeline.

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Still crazy after all these years In honor of his 70th birthday, Architecture Forum Aedes in Berlin has doffed its metaphorical cap to Wolf D. Prix, dedicating a small retrospective to the architect and his firm Coop Himmelb(l)au.

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Technocrats make the world a duller place What will tomorrow’s offices look like? What role will technology play in all this? Or aesthetics? Thomas Wagner spoke to Hanns-Peter Cohn, CEO at Vitra, about the office as an urban landscape, tiny office cubicles and places of retreat, replacing felt with polyester and future developments.

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Less caviar, more meat & potatoes please This year’s Heimtextil in Frankfurt runs the danger of being memorable for its superficiality rather than its quality. However, they have come up with some real highlights – and these aren’t restricted to the “Being” trend show alone.

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Two brothers in a brilliant game with nature. Hey, boys will be boys I’m tempted to say: It’s about time. Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have been named “A&W Designers of the Year 2013”. Certainly cause for a portrait of these two designers extraordinaire.

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Martin Fengel & Martin Wöhrl: Beyond the convention “…In this way, we have on the one hand transformed the fair stand into a notional art gallery, on the other into a woodland scene…”

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Brynjar Sigurdarson: Visualizing the production process “…There is something charming in the sound of an old wooden floor and the silence of a thick woolen carpet…”

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Mirko Borsche: Patterns and colors in the third dimension “…My favorite type of flooring? The turf in Munich’s ‘Allianz Arena‘…“

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Steffen Kehrle: A labyrinthine room in bamboo parquet “…This was in fact our first real contact with the area of ‘flooring’…”

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Normal Studio: A carpet aquarium and a platform made of laminate “…the rugs become reminiscent of corals, anemones or sponges…”

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Sebastian Wrong: A camouflaged carpet “…The concept was inspired by warship ‘dazzle’ design, which was used in the early 20th century to provide abstract camouflage to moving objects…”

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Selected manufacturers at imm cologne 2013 Each year, imm cologne is the first event to present the latest home trends for Europe and overseas. Over 1,050 exhibitors from more than 50 countries will present their innovations at the furniture fair. An exhibitor schedule presents the most important manufacturers.

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