Winners of the “interzum award: intelligent material & design 2015” - jury of experts granted top award to just nine entries
The international supplier industry for the furniture and interior decorating industries will meet 2015 once again at the “interzum cologne”. For that purpose the Koelnmesse trade fair opens its doors from 5 to 8 May. Over an area of more than 160,000 square metres, around 1,500 international exhibitors will present visions for designing future living spaces and inspire product developers, designers and architects worldwide. Their goods will set important impulses, trends and new industry standards.
The exhibitors include numerous participants in the “interzum award: intelligent material & design 2015”. These companies faced the international comparison and proved their expertise with their product innovations and refinements. This emphasises that the industry has recognised the importance of design as an economic factor for success on the market and is taking advantage of this.
The competition is organised by Koelnmesse in cooperation with Red Dot already for the eighth time. In 2015, it received a total of 269 entries from 21 countries. Three different categories were offered to enter innovative designs for the furniture industry and interior decorating: from “Materials and surfaces” to “Fittings, glass and lighting” to “Upholstery manufacture and bedding”.
Together with the internationally successful German designer Martin Ballendat, architect and designer Mårten Claesson from Sweden and Birgit Schwarzkopf, owner of Schwarzkopf Innenarchitektur in Düsseldorf, Dutch designer Dick Spierenburg, and Professor Dr Peter Zec, initiator and CEO of Red Dot, judged the works submitted. Each individual product was discussed and assessed by the experts live and on-site.
Winning in the “interzum award: intelligent material & design” attests the quality and innovative power of the award-winning products. In addition, the award generates maximum attention for the manufacturers: They are put into the focus of international decision makers.
This year, the jury of renowned experts granted the “High Product Quality” award for special design achievements in form and function to 50 entries. Only nine products were honoured as “Best of the Best”. This title recognises excellent design achievements whose form and function set new standards in their industry. This sought-after prize is reserved for the best products only.
The goal of the “interzum award: intelligent material & design” is to put a spotlight on features such as innovative design, intelligent details, aesthetics and functionality and to mark especially well-executed products with the industry label. Nine manufacturers succeeded in realising precisely these aspects with their prize-winning products: Fraunhofer-Institut für Holzforschung WKI, Richter akustik & design GmbH & Co. KG, Schock Metallwerk GmbH and OCTO Actuators GmbH (Bionical Design GmbH) from Germany as well as Organoid Technologies GmbH from Austria and Swiss manufacturer Lamello AG. Moreover, ALPI SPA and Arpa Industriale S.p.A. from Italy as well as DesleeClama from Belgium secured the top award “Best of the Best” in the competition with their products.
On 4 May 2015, the proud laureates will be honoured in the course of the interzum Party: manufacturers, designers and marketing decision makers will converge at the Koelnmesse site to celebrate the high point of this year’s competition and the start of interzum cologne 2015. All prize-winning designs will be presented to the public in a special exhibition as part of the leading global trade fair. The awardees of the honour “Best of the Best” will be displayed on the fair’s boulevard in a walk-in square. In this way, Koelnmesse is highlighting the significance of design as an engine of innovation. In addition, the awarded products will be presented in the online exhibition at www.interzum-award.com.
