imm cologne 2022

Visions of „Das Apartment HAUS“

Even though "Visions of "Das Apartment HAUS" is not the same as the originally planned "Das Haus", the new design approach also offers enough scope to present the ideas and visions of the designers. Thus, the Australian Kate Booy, who runs the studio Truly Truly together with her husband Joel Booy, will continue to work on the continuation of their spatial research through the stimulation of the senses, even under the new framework. The basic idea here is, instead of a typical home layout, the design couple envisions the space as a canvas arranged with a stimulating composition of elements.

In contrast, Luca Nichetto's ideas focus on values such as passion, craftsmanship, the importance of savoir faire and a community - consisting of designers and companies. From his point of view, investing in a design product means investing in the community described, which is always behind this product. In the case of Sebastian Herkner, a designer from Offenbach, the focus will be on the design of co-living and co-working spaces. He is concerned with the question of transitions between concentration and communication spaces, which he wants to design in such a way that there is room for different needs: space to retreat, to work together, but also to meet people and let a feeling of neighborliness develop.

The story of Das Haus is thus continued in its tenth edition, creating three stages and thus three meeting places that - true to the imm cologne 2022's motto "Time for Exchange" - encourage discussion, reflection and personal dialogue.

Three designers – from Germany, the Netherlands/Australia and Sweden/Italy

In the meantime, the designers presented in Cologne as young creatives have become prominent figures on the interiors scene and are known all over the world. “It goes without saying that I’m thrilled to be part of it again,” says Sebastian Herkner, one of Germany’s most internationally successful designers. “And more than anything else, it’s great to do the project in cooperation with other design studios. That’s a good idea in general at a time like this, when you’re travelling less and not getting together with others so much, but still able to use virtual channels for an intense exchange of ideas with people you’re in touch with because you’ve been meeting them at trade fairs for years and got to know them.” At his studio in Offenbach, Herkner creates designs for clients like Dedon, Gloster, Ames, Pulpo and Schramm.

Kate Booy from Australia, who runs Studio Truly Truly together with her husband Joel Booy, was also happy to accept the imm cologne’s invitation: “Once again, it’s really exciting to be involved in Das Haus. Being in an imaginary situation gives us the freedom to explore extreme ideas.” The husband-and-wife team, who trained as graphic and product designers and are now based in Rotterdam, take a holistic approach that also incorporates artistic impetus. The brands they design for include Leolux, Tacchini, Dexter Lighting and Rakumba.

The third creative force is Luca Nichetto, who today works from two locations – Venice and Stockholm – for brands like Rolf Benz, Sancal, Kristalia, &tradition, La Manufacture, Bernhardt Design, Foscarin or Wittmann. Looking back, the designer sees his “Haus” from 2013 as “a concept that can be a real house – not just an inspirational space, but a statement of that moment that can be realised if desired. The focus was on using greenery and plants to design a healthy space and home,” says the Venetian. “For 2020, we’re looking forward to doing something much more radical and provocative. We’re working on a concept with dual layers of meaning: one related to the message we want to give and another to elements that might be relevant for this new era of living and working at home.”

Creative Director Dick Spierenburg isn’t just anticipating insights in the form of groundbreaking concepts and original interior designs for the design project that he’s been curating for the last 10 years: “It will also be intriguing to see to what extent Das Apartment HAUS reveals the personal development of the designers, whose distinctive works we remember so well from previous years.”

A new topic for the design event at imm cologne: managed apartments

The imm cologne’s Das Haus has always been a place of encounter. The way we perceive living space is changing all the time – and not just since corona struck: mobility, urban consolidation and the search for new forms of housing that allow permeability and seclusion in equal measure are presenting architecture and interior design with new challenges. Das Apartment HAUS 2021 aims to generate relevant concepts that permit temporary living in a mix of private space and communal areas with protected access.

In 2021, the experimental platform for interior design is thus addressing an issue that will shape the future and is having an increasing impact on urban development: long and short stay apartments. They represent a new category for the interiors business. At the same time, it’s important to remember that executives, experts, digital nomads, commuters, career starters and students have very different requirements when it comes to managed urban living concepts. Long and short stay apartments are usually rented fully furnished. But the new apartment houses also offer co-living options, which combine private quarters with jointly used spaces for hospitality, sport and work.

2022: urban living concepts for long- or short-stay apartments

Home living is conceived today as a holistic sphere of life that encompasses the need for retreat, but also indoor and outdoor social activities, entertainment and home working. However, integrating the home office into the traditional living environment isn’t the only challenge that the interiors industry will face in future; the sector will also have to develop models for “a new way of living” that seek to provide solutions for urban consolidation.