14 Interior Innovations Sweep Awards At IMM Cologne 2009

The seventh IMM Cologne Interior Innovation Awards were announced today at the end of a week long home furnishings fair in Cologne, Germany. The international jury granted 25 design awards to 14 products, including three awards to young designers (the D3Awards) and five "Best of Best" awards.

Here are the14 interior Innovation winners and their awards:

 

1. CONFLUENCES Modular Seating, by Philippe Nigro for Roset Möbel
Best of Best, Best Item, and Best System Awards

Manufactured in a variety of colorful fabrics, Confluences offers each the chance to sit or recline the way they like. Roset Möbel GmbH

 

 

 

 

2. OSCAR Table by Piero Lissoni for Glas Italia
Best of Best, Best Item, and Best Detail Awards

Oscar, the pure glass transparent-as-air in the countryside, table looks fragile but, in fact, is very stable due to a special tempering of the glass. Glas Italia.

 

 

 

3. MYTO Cantilever Chair, by Konstantin Grcic for Plank Collezioni
Best of Best, Best Item, and Materials Innovation Awards

Designer Konstantin Grcic, BASF, and Plank Collezioni collaborated to produce this lightweight cantilever chair in one block. Use of the plastic Ultradur High Speed gave this new version of the cantilever the look and feel of flexibility.

 

 

 

 

4. TORNO Side Table, by Stephan Veit for Draenert GmbH
Best of Best and Best Item Awards

German Draenert Studio won the top awards with Torno, a twisted side table made of a resin that's hard-wearing. The table is made in one piece, giving it a lovely sculptured quality.

 

 

 

5. SHO5 ARIE Shelf System by Arik Levey for e15
Best of Best, Best Item and Best System Awards

Designed by Arik Levy for e15, this modular shelf system has endless possibilities for display. Shelves can be turned on their sides, upside-down, stacked horizontally or vertically.

 

 

 

 

6. AREX/ARON Material by and for Création Baumann
Best Fabric Award

The Swiss company Création Baumann won the award for best new fabrics, Arex and Aron, two design of flame retardand upholstery fabrics with three dimensional and textural appeal. Aron is the fabric with small connecting ovals; Arex is the fabric with the angular shapes.

 

 

 

 

7. CS1 Chair by Carine Stelte for estArte GmbH
Materials Innovation Award

The CS1 chair won German estArte the Materials Innovation Award for its use of a very fine concrete, a pollution-free composite of cement, sand, figers, and water. The characteristics of this cement enabled its French designer, Carine Stelte, to build the chair in one piece.

 

 

 

8. DIONISO Mirror by Ettore Sottsass for Glas Italia
Best Detail Award

Glas Italia won Best Detail Award for a series of six mirrors entitled Dioiso, designed by Ettore Sottsass.The six mirrors are all characterized by polychromatic frames composed of laminated colored mirror, glass, and lacquered glass.

 

 

 

9. SOMA Cabinets by and for Kettnaker GmbH & Co.
Best System and Best Detail Awards

Soma is a furniture system built by furniture designer Kettnaker of Germany. The outisde panels of the furniture magnetically adhere to its base, allowing greater possibilities in arrangement of the pieces. Additionally the modular technology lends itself very well to entertainment systems as it is easy to hide wires and to play with placement of equipment.

 

 

 

10. SPLIT Writing Desk by Meike Rüssler for Ligne Roset
Best Detail Award

Meike Rüssler designed this writing desk for her dissertation, turning tradition into something fresh and modern. The precisely worked details of the design won the best detail award for its sliding storage chests, niches for paper and office equipment, sliding covers for cable tidies, a dock beneath the top for a multiway plug, and a pivoting desk light. German design company Ligne Roset presented the Split Sekretar at IMM Cologne.

 

 

 

11. MY AND ROO SACK CHAIRS by Ulla Koskinen for Woodnotes OY
Materials Innovation Award

There are no photos of the My and Roo Sack Chairs accessible at this time; thus I quote, with a few English translation corrections, the IMM award blurb:

"My and Roo are a intended for relaxed and comfortable seating. The combination of inflexible and thick Sand –upholstery fabric and the filling mix makes the sack chairs both soft and sturdy. My is smaller, like an easy chair and Roo resembles a divan that invites one to relax."

 

 

12. A RESTLESS CHAIRACTER by Pepe Heykoop
D³Award

Though it looks as if it's an uncomfortable, crochety old chair, the Chairacter actually has joints of rubber. You only realize its flexibility by touching it or sitting on it. By Pepe Heykoop of the Netherlands.

 

 

 

13. GRACE TABLE by Philippe Malouin
D³Award

Philippe Malouin likes the idea of inflatable furniture, if for no other reason that it is easy to move from place to place. He has attempted with his table, Grace, to achieve a flat surface so one can eat off the table secure in the notion that their tableware and food will not fall off. It looks like he is getting there....

 

 

 

14. CLARK by Jacob Brinck
D³Award

In Jacob Brinck's Clark desk, the desk does not receive an identity until books and papers and writing utensils are placed upon it. It is then the desk and "Clark," from the English word "clerk," know their jobs for the day.

 

 

IMM Cologne