imm cologne news

Johanna Grawunder, member of the imm cologne trendboard, photo: Koelnmesse; Lutz Sternstein

Johanna Grawunder isn’t easy to pin down. She builds houses, designs interiors and creates classic industrial products for clients like Boffi, Flos, B&B or WMF. But above all, she creates exclusive furniture and lighting for galleries in Europe and the USA, often integrating LEDs and seemingly dematerialising the forms.

For her, light is an important medium for designing the interior as part of the whole. Nor does lighting always have to be a stand-alone item, believes Johanna Grawunder. Integrated into furniture, it’s simply there – and takes on a whole new quality.

The architect from California began her career in Ettore Sottsass’ Milan studio in 1985 and was involved with some of his most prestigious architecture and interior design projects.

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Cecilie Manz, Marcus Fairs, Johanna Grawunder, Giulio Ridolfo and Bertjan Pot (f.l.t.r.) Photo: Koelnmesse; Lutz Sternstein

Every summer, five or six renowned designers get together in the tower block of Cologne exhibition centre for an unusual workshop that culminates in a prognosis of the most important developments in interior design: the Trend Book with the interior trends of the coming year. Every year, the Trendboard convened by the imm cologne brings together product designers, architects, material specialists and journalists who are regarded as internationally acknowledged authorities on design and are successful at international level. The Trendboard line-up changes every year and represents several nationalities and disciplines.

This year, materials specialist Giulio Ridolfo and journalist Marcus Fairs ensure the desired continuity. Giulio Ridolfo, a designer and textile consultant from Italy’s creative stronghold Udine, made a name for himself with his unusual works for the likes of Patricia Urquiola.

London author Marcus Fairs’ reputation is founded on his online magazine dezeen. New impulses came from American architect and interior designer Johanna Grawunder, whose work in the field of product design includes exclusive and colourful limited editions, and Cecilie Manz, a young and successful designer from Denmark with an excellent instinct for materials and colours. Dutch designer Bertjan Pot, the third new face on this year’s Trendboard, is also part of the young, successful generation of designers that is currently accelerating the pace of change in the design scene.

As in previous years, the Trendboard was accompanied by Andrej Kupetz, managing director of the Frankfurt-based German Design Council since 1999.

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Giulio Ridolfo is no designer. But his creative contribution to the world of interior design is highly treasured. The graduate in fashion design, who once worked for Gianfranco Ferré and Tods & Hogan, is currently said to be the most sought-after career changer in the field of textile design.

Giulio Ridolfo’s patterns embellish the upholstery of Italian’s famous furniture producer Moroso; for Vitra the material expert composed a color system, he is the first Italian to join the design team of the renowned Danish textile manufacturer Kvadrat and member of last year’s trendboard summoned by the imm cologne.

It’s only due to Patrizia Moroso that the former fashion designer actually came into contact with the furniture industry and finally started to work in the field. The businesswoman from Udine was looking for talents when she came across Ridolfo and finally engaged him as advisor. Since that time he is involved in the creation of textile collections, runs workshops for interior professionals on the launch of new collections, and in close cooperation with designers he develops the outer mantle – the “skin” – of their products.

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Warm shades of red, modernised classic forms and colourful ensembles of solid wood, plastic, leather and metal are soon to enter into the living rooms of fashion-conscious interior design fans. This is the prophecy of the Trend Board at imm cologne, which, from 19 to 25 January 2009, will become the Mecca of the international furnishing world.

Five famous creative individuals – Eero Koivisto from Sweden, Markus Fairs from England, Arik Lévy from Israel, Stephen Burks from the USA and Giulio Ridolfo from Italy – have carried out research into how interior trends will look in 2009 on behalf of the furniture trade fair from Cologne. They were able to sift out four general directions in terms of tastes. An employee from the Ludwigsburg-based furnishing store Uhl Schöner Leben, which is always keen to promote innovation, commented on them for imm cologne.

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In this time of major change, the Trendboard at the imm cologne compiles stunning examples of designers’ attempts to create a space which helps people reconnect with the world. These latest trends in interior design are featured in the book “Interior Trends 2009″.

According to the trend analysis conducted by the imm cologne Trendboard, the realities of the world around us are effectively reflected in both people and the latest designs. We are increasingly aware of the perceived and real changes in our lives, which directly impact our lifestyles and home furnishings.

Today’s design expresses social transformations, the shifting balance of nature, changes in our day-to-day lives and our sense of personal responsibility. People are looking at old, familiar things in new ways – and combining them to create innovative designs. Values are being challenged and new rules for aesthetics established.

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