Cologne exhibits to take peek at future
By Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, December 3, 2001
COLOGNE, Germany — Two new future-looking exhibitions will greet attendees of the International Furniture Fair in January, including one demonstrating how furniture manufacturers are using robotics.
The show, set for Jan. 14-20 in the 3 million-square-foot-plus KolnMesse here, will have about 1,450 exhibitors from more than 50 countries.
Attendance is more than 60% non-German, with over 100 countries represented, making it easily Europe's biggest furniture show.
In one of the new exhibitions, German designers will display ideas for future living environments. Developed in conjunction with German design colleges, the exhibition is called "WOHNvisionen," or Living Visions.
The interplay of light and furniture is the central theme of this display.
The other exhibition, called Ex Machina, has been organized in cooperation with the Museum of Applied Arts in Cologne and is one of the first to focus on the impact robots are having on the manufacture and design of everyday products for the home.
The robotics presentation will cover production of furniture, lamps, pictures and automobiles.
Last year, the fair attracted 1,617 suppliers from 49 countries, as well as approximately 125,000 visitors.
The attendance figure includes about 35,000 consumers, who are invited to the fair during its last two days.
Information on the Cologne show is available on the Web at www.furniturefair-cologne.com and at www.koelnmesse.de.
