Dear Readers,

In spite of all the prophecies of doom, the imm cologne furniture fair turned out to be a good start into 2008. In our February Newsletter we have compiled a selection of the new products which were presented at this year's imm.

MaterialVision is the Frankfurt specialist fair for materials in the fields of product development, design and architecture. We take pleasure in presenting to you some of the winners of the Design Plus prize awarded by the jury.

Be inspired!

Your Architonic team
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Even if the imm cologne has lost ground in comparison to the Milan fair, which has now become the major international design event, and the Maison & Objet exhibition which has benefited from the design boom in France, the response of the majority of imm exhibitors was entirely positive. The absence of the kind of crowds that are attracted to the glamour of Milan has in fact proved an advantage to Cologne, because the retailers and manufacturers find the time and peace and quiet to enter into detailed discussions and conclude business deals.
In spite of the general trend to save any product launches for Milan, a number of manufacturers enterprisingly used Cologne as the first market test for their new products - and according to their own reports this was more than rewarded. We have put together the highlights for your here.

Innovative materials inspire designers and architects to create ever new products and applications. This was demonstrated at the end of 2007, when the latest developments in the field of new production and surfacing materials were presented at two leading materials exhibitions: Materialica in Munich and Material Vision in Frankfurt / Main.

As a platform for materials in product development, design and architecture, Material Vision this year awarded the Design Plus prize to 30 products. These were selected on the criteria of innovative material, successful design and intelligent functionality.

Among the prize-winning products, for example, was THE KETTLE (Heat Concepts, IDEO), a kettle in the form of a carafe, which doesn't need a handle because of its heat-resistant Ultrason material. This high-tech plastic developed by BASF is suitable for use at high temperatures of up to 220 °C. This means that the outside of the kettle can be touched at any time - even when the contents are hot - without the risk of a burn, while the transparent container means that the water can be seen bubbling as it boils.

An award also went to the Lyn lamp by Christophe Marchand Design. The jury was especially impressed by the successful combination of high-tech and charm, which is expressed by the textile lampshade which has been produced by the latest knitting technology. This knitted lampshade consists of a heat-resistant fabric which reflects the light, ensuring that it is not just diffused outwards but also radiates inwards.

The ZipLiege, a product manufactured in the ZipShape technology by designtoproduction, Zürich, impressed the jury with the simple production methods on which it is based. The ZipShape process makes it possible to manufacture curved surfaces without a profile gauge. The system uses two individually toothed plates which interlock in such a way that they only fit in the required curve, with the geometry of the teeth determining the curve of the plate.
The form of the toothing is calculated on the basis of a computer drawing and produced automatically. In addition, this technology has recently received the 2008 iF Material Award.

The Maplex wood material (well Ausstellungssytem GmbH) is characterised by sustainability and a wide range of applications. This material, which is made entirely out of cellulose, can be shaped permanently like metal and can be cut, drilled, formed or punched. The material, which is also described as 'sheet wood', is fully degradable. Maplex enables permanent shapes to be produced in the same way as sheet steel is processed. With its flat characteristics the material can be processed with CNC machinery and is therefore ideally suited to series production of products such as chairs, shelves and decorative objects. Its metal-like properties also make the material suitable for automobile production.

A further award went to Mediamesh, a patented system for turning large facades into media surfaces which has been developed by ag4 media facade GmbH and GKD - Gebr. Kufferath AG. In its basic concept Mediamesh is a stainless steel mesh with LED profiles woven into it, behind which the media controls are positioned. The LEDs reproduce the image on the facade, enabling a wide spectrum of graphics, texts and videos.

Young Design at the imm cologne 2008

This year, too, the imm cologne will provide lots of opportunities to discover young design talent and discover fresh ideas. The exhibition presents the third series of the [d3] Design Talents event, this time in a new form. The previous trilogy of Future Point, Inspired by Cologne and NRG have become [d3] Schools, [d3] Contest and [d3] Professionals. A further innovation is the location - [d3] Design Talents has moved to Hall 2.1, which means that it is now even closer to the core of the fair.

In spite of all the prophecies of doom

On Sunday before last this year's imm cologne closed its doors after receiving 107,000 visitors from 103 countries - statistics which speak for themselves. In spite of general pessimistic forecasts, for trade visitors Cologne is still one of the furniture fairs with the greatest worldwide relevance - Cologne is where you do business, on this there was unanimity among the participating manufacturers, whose opinions on the fair were otherwise highly diverse.

GRP meets porcelain

The 'Professorship Project' (Projekt Professur) is the name of the programme at the Karlsruhe College of Design under which well-known designers are invited to become visiting professors at the college and which, after three appointments so far, has proved highly successful. Last year Stefan Diez from Munich held the one-year professorship, after his predecessors James Irvine from Milan and Jurgen Bey from Rotterdam had previously been tempted to spend a year by the Upper Rhine.

The VIA Creation Grants

For the maiden run of the 'Meuble Paris' furniture fair, and pursuing its annual Creation Assistance programme, VIA has presented the Carte Blanche grant awarded to designer Jean-Louis Frechin, the ten Project Assistance grants prototypes, as well as the new Partnership Project 'Creation and Skilled Trades', which brought together designer Philippe Nigro and the Compagnons du Devoir journeymen.

More colour!

A few kilometres to the north of Stockholm, in a picturesque house which lies on the former hunting grounds of the kings of Sweden - this is where Fredrik Mattson has his studio. In recent years the 34-year old furniture designer has made a name for himself on the Scandinavian design scene with his playful and colourful creations.

Greenhouse in Stockholm

Like on many other furniture fairs also in Stockholm the exhibition of young designers is a relevant part of the programme since 2003. In cosy atmosphere - the exhibition was designed by the swedish studio TAF - international talents present their work.