Interzum launches MaterialTransformation

Yet another service for Interzum exhibitors, the fair for the furniture and supplies world to be held in Cologne from 5 to 8 May 2015, to take advantage of: with the MaterialTransformation concept, Koelnmesse is offering a networking platform where companies and industrial design students can find as suitable a match as possible in a quicker, more efficient manner. interzum will present the results of these collaborations at various interiors trade fairs. Orgatec 2014, taking place in October, will be the first event, presenting insights into the collaboration between Gera Leuchten and the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle. 

Pure functionality is not good enough: whether it’s fittings or machinery, industrial design is becoming more and more important for suppliers of the furniture industry. MaterialTransformation, the new platform established by Koelnmesse, now allows universities for industrial design and interzum exhibitors to come into contact in a more efficient and above all, simpler way, with an emphasis on the know-how-transfer going both ways.

Inspiration for the initiative: For an individual company, the effort required to embark upon a project with a university is often relatively intensive. Gathering the basic information alone is difficult: who is the contact at the university, which education centres have the appropriate training goals, how is the actual collaboration organised and what are the legal terms and conditions? Now, with the MaterialTransformation platform, interzum will take on the role of intermediary, where requested. This special service improves the prospects of a mutually rewarding collaboration – and for exhibitors at the world’s leading fair, the service is completely free!

Industrial design is an extremely important topic for the furniture supplier industry. “Industrial designers are trained in many different sectors, have their own perspective on products and materials and can transfer these skills into other areas very well,” says Iris Laubstein, project manager of MaterialTransformation. At Orgatec, the first results of this type of collaboration will be presented at the “interior of innovation” area, a special “piazza” for architects and designers.