When you think about Cologne, you probably think of the stuff that smells good when you spray it on, right? Think again, pal. Cologne is the place to be in Europe right now for design as the imm Cologne is gathering some of the hottest design talent in one place. Ach Ja!
Here are some of our favorite things from the 2015 edition of January’s biggest design show…
Images via Dezeen
Each year at imm, Das Haus is designed by a different designer, tasked with presenting their vision for the future of design. This year, Shanghai-based team Neri&Hu challenges the way that people fill their home with furniture. They overstuffed the Das Haus with furnishings, to make people rethink the trade fair as simply a collection of cool chairs.
Images via Designboom
To display their ‘LC collection’ and contemporary pieces which honors Le Corbusier on the 50th anniversary of his death, Italian manufacturer Cassina designed a concrete environment that references some of the best Le Corbusier projects, including the chapel at Ronchamp, Unité d’Habitation in Marseille, and Villa Shodhan in Ahmedabad, India.
Images courtesy Fynn Freyschmidt
Fynn Freyschmidt, a student at the design school UdK in Berlin, showed these inflatable bike helmets made from Pneumatic Knit, a new material that is hard when inflated and soft when deflated.
Images courtesy BuzziSpace
Belgian designers BuzziSpace debuted their BuzziCactus, a whimsical office divider made of sustainable materials. They double as bulletin boards, room dividers, and art pieces, and come in three varieties: Taco, TexMex, and Gringo.
Images courtesy Hon Tan Trieu
Another student at the UdK, Hon Tan Trieu built a series of tables and shelves made of organic forms derived form the Voronoi algorithm. The shapes are optimized so that support is distributed around the legs, where the most force is, minimizing the material needed. The laser-sintered webs connect to the wooden parts through simple plug connections.
Shallow drawers under this table by Dutch designer Ineke Hans are perfect for slender items such as cutlery, papers, or mobile tablets. The legs and top are wood, while the felt drawers are made of a composite produced from recycled plastic.