Get Creative At IMM Cologne 2020

In January, Cologne becomes the centre of the design scene with interior professionals and design-savvy consumers joining together in search of inspiration on the theme of home living and design – and to visit around 200 exhibitions in different locations around the city.

cattelan italia

“Cologne Design Week is a team event. We, as the organisers of the imm cologne trade fair, are among the large number of people in the city who contribute towards the success of what is probably one of the most interesting design events in Europe. Cologne is the centre of the international design scene right at the start of the year. You can sense it in the fairgrounds and feel it in every pore of the city. In combination with the hospitality of its people and its many places of interest, Cologne is worth the journey for many business people from the interiors sector,” says Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH.

“Cologne is creative – this is also demonstrated by the people of Cologne, who not only take up our traditional offer of a weekend visit to the trade fair on the so-called public days, but also go to see the many exhibitions and installations on the themes of design and home living that are held in the city centre.”

Camino

The PASSAGEN once again opened the international design season with exhibitions and installations from the crème de la crème of the international design scene and, as usual, revealed its entire breadth in the design location that is Cologne. Key players included classic solo figures and young networks, universities, newcomers, institutions, architects and platforms. For one week, they all take up residence just doors away from one another, all pearls strung closely together along a trail through Cologne’s city centre, along its ring road as well as in the Rheinauhafen, Südstadt and Deutz districts, not to mention the creative Belgian quarter and Ehrenfeld. They offer 360 degrees of design, with the whole city becoming a stage for design, atmosphere and inspiration.

Kare Design

“In January, Cologne really is like the mecca of the international design scene,” says Sabine Voggenreiter, founder of the PASSAGEN programme, now in its 31st edition, which is organised from her office. “The interplay of imm cologne and the decentralised exhibition programme works so well, because the trade fair is close to the city and the over 190 PASSAGEN exhibitions from Südstadt to the Belgian quarter and the furniture mile on the ring road through to the creative quarter of Ehrenfeld give the Interior Design Week a completely unique character.”

To coincide with imm cologne 2020, the Museum of Applied Arts Cologne (MAKK) work with the Pentagon Design Group – 35 years after it was founded – to show its first museum installation featuring solely the work of Cologne’s Pentagon group (1985–1991), which was one of the key players in the “Neues deutsches Design” (new German design) movement.

Vilmers

“The MAKK isn’t just the only art and design museum in Cologne, it also opens a large design exhibition with spectacular installations every year during imm cologne. This makes it the first port of call for all design professionals and enthusiasts once they’ve been around the trade fair, and it serves as a link to the PASSAGEN design trail. The design-based season-opener in the museum’s exhibition series has been effective in strengthening Cologne as a design location and making a visit to the Cologne furniture fair a special experience,” explains Museum Director, Petra Hesse.

At the Design Post, right next door to the fairgrounds, over 30 interiors brands are also showcased– some of which can also be found at imm cologne. The Design Post is an inspiring “must-visit” event in Cologne’s most attractive living room on the “Schäl Sick” (as Cologne natives call the right bank of the Rhine).

celio

“Cologne has always been an exciting city when it comes to interior design. There is an extraordinary density and wealth of institutions, showrooms, designers, retailers and service providers in Cologne and the local area. Of course, the uniquely close physical link between the fairgrounds and the inner city – which are separated by just one bridge – provides a very special appeal in this interrelationship. This becomes especially evident during Cologne Design Week – when imm cologne, PASSAGEN and year-round players like us come together to form one big, coherent happening. This all-in-one package has made the week of the trade fair a brilliant start to the interiors year for us for almost 15 years!” enthuses host Volker Streckel from the Design Post, adding: “And where else can you cross paths with the Carnival Prince in the midst of top-class interior design?”

The city of Cologne is a location for culture and the creative industry at the same time.

Venjakob Möbel

For more visit IMM Cologne 2020.