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Design | By Benjamin Kempton | 26 Jan 2011

IMM Cologne 2011

’Tec’ chairs by Bao-Nghi Droste Design, on show at IMM Cologne

The first furniture fair of the year, IMM Cologne is often noted as a place where big brands show new finishes for existing pieces or reissue past classics, rather than unveil new collections. This year turned out to be somewhat of turning point, with a wealth of new products on display within the fair’s many halls.
A standout in this year’s new ’Living Kitchen’ section was Matteo Thun’s collaboration with Milanese brand,
http://www.riva1920.it/" target="_blank" >Riva 1920, and American Hardwood. His ’La Cucina’ installation deliberately harked back to a time before gadgets and mechanisation, when simpler kitchens centred around conviviality. ’I am not a friend of all these electrical controls,’ Thun said. ’It is against the nature of our Mediterranean approach of sitting and talking to nonna [grandma].’ Surrounding the central cooking tripod was a series of units, also constructed by Thun, using wood reclaimed from his ’Beacons’ installation at last year’s Salone del Mobile.
Elsewhere in the fair, the Design Talents show proved a big draw, with highlights including Laetitia Florin’s rubberised ’Bidum’ storage containers and Emilie Colin Garros’ ’Functional Rhythm’ table. Making a feature out of metal framework proved a persistent trend, as shown by designers like Linn Kandel and Schwab/Panther.
Ligne Roset’s contribution to the fair is also always a highlight. This year it unveiled new additions to its Ruché collection by Inga Sempé, and a ’Simplissimo’ range of seating, including a banquette and chaise longue, by Jean Nouvel, which may look firm but are actually surprisingly comfortable.

’Axis’ lamps and ’Buddy L+S’ furniture by Bao-Nghi Droste Design

’Munich’ lounge sofa by Sauerbruch Hutton for Classicon

’Munich’ lounge chairs by Sauerbruch Hutton for Classicon

’La Cucina’ installation by Matteo Thun for Riva 1920 and American Hardwood, in the ’Living Kitchen’ hall

Cabinets by Matteo Thun, constructed using reclaimed wood from his ’Beacons’ installation at last year’s Salone del Mobile

’Twist night’ stools by Formstelle for Zeitraum

’Simple button’ bed by Formstelle for Zeitraum

’Bondt’ couch by Nana Gröner and Merit Frank for Zeitraum

’Tenshi’ bench by Sato Furnishings

’Alnomarecucina’ by Alno AG

’Wogg 37’ chair by Alfredo Häberli for Wogg

’Vision’ cupboards by Pastoe

’Tor’ side tables by Montis

’Cabinet’ by Dick Spierenburg for Arco

’Cafe’ chair by Jonathan Prestwich for Arco

’Pivot’ desk by Shay Alkalay of Raw Edges for Arco

’Linea’ chairs and table by Gabriele Pezzini and ’Albero’ coat stand by Fabio Bortolani for La Palma

’Wooden Carpet’ by Elisa Strozyk for Boewer

Sideboard by Eric Degenhardt for Boewer

’Namu’ side tables by Boettcher and Henssler and ’School’ end table by Konstantin Grcic for Boewer

Concrete letter box, paper box, light and house numbers by Serafini

’Vuolle’ pendant light by Doctor Design

Reissues by Tecta

’DS-315’ by Philippe Bestenheider for De Sede

’Scope’ seating by Büro Uwe Fischer for Cor

’Fossa’ sofa by Aurélien Barbry

’Entailles’ sofa by Philippe Nigro for Ligne Roset

’Ploum’ sofa by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Ligne Roset

’Ruché’ bed by Inga Sempé for Ligne Roset

Over in the Design Talents hall: ’Bidum’ containers by Laetitia Florin

’SP-7’ dining table by Schwab/Panther

’Functional Rhythm’ table by Emilie Colin Garros

’Brigitte’ by Enrique Illanez Schoenenberger

IMM Cologne 2011

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