The Materials & Nature Piazzas at Interzum 2017 will look at the roles of materials in individualisation with Katrin de Louw once again in charge of the concept and design for these halls.
Interzum is the leading international trade fair for the furniture and interior construction industries’ supplying sections and is traditionally divided into three segments: Textile & Machinery, Function & Components and Materials & Nature.
In this way, the entire spectrum of components used in furniture manufacturing and interior construction is presented in a concise yet comprehensive way. Alongside the exhibitors’ presentations, every segment offers its own Piazza, providing an area which has been designed to focus on a specific theme and which serves as a meeting place and source of inspiration.
In this year’s Materials & Nature halls, there will be, for the first time, two Piazzas inviting visitors in – and they will again be conceived and designed by the interior architect Katrin de Louw.
In ancient Italian towns, wherever two or more streets joined up, businesses, cafés and restaurants would settle. To this day, people still meet up in the piazza to discuss the latest world events, meet up with friends or conduct business. This is not unique to Italy: it happens all over the world – including Cologne, at the world’s leading fair for the furniture and interior construction industries’ supplying sections. Each of the three themed areas at interzum has its own Piazza, all tailor-made to focus on their respective core theme.
In the Materials & Nature segment at Interzum 2017, there will be two Piazzas for the first time: one in Hall 6 and the other in Hall 10.2. These two areas are linked by their common theme of “individuality”.
The desire for individualised design of living spaces is one of the big trends to have been shaping the furniture industry for years. In the search for scope to create individualised designs, the choice of materials for furniture and interiors plays a decisive role today, and will continue to do so in the future. New materials, machining processes and surfaces are being brought to market within ever shorter development cycles.
Alongside their variety, the opportunities to combine these different materials are also growing at an exponential rate, so planners and fabricators gain enormous scope to be creative, which allows them to fulfil the most varied of customer wishes. The only difficulty is keeping track of it all. This is where the Piazzas in the “Materials & Nature” segment becomes invaluable with their comprehensive overview of exhibitors’ highlights and coming trends in this segment.
Alongside the relaxed, meeting-place atmosphere of the Piazzas, there will once again be a comprehensive program of lectures: just as trends in design and colour will be discussed by experts from business and science, so will technical questions, current industry standards and quality seals.
One of the daily highlights will be the “Trendespresso”, a short lecture by Katrin de Louw about current trends in design. This format has already proved to be a crowd-puller at recent events. And, talking about espresso: in 2017, both areas will again be rounded off with a catering offering. So everything that belongs in a real piazza will also be in place at the fair: culinary treats, the exchange of ideas and certainly one or two business transactions.
Australian designers, retailers, cabinetmakers and joiners have a unique opportunity to attend Interzum in 2017 as part of the AIDT trip – to find out more click here.
For more information on Interzum visit interzum.com
