From now on, participants of “Interzum @Home 2021” can submit their technical novelties, advanced materials as well as exciting product innovations for the “Interzum Award: Intelligent Material & Design”. And the deadline is April 12. The competition is being organized for the eleventh time by Koelnmesse in cooperation with Red Dot. A jury will decide on the best design achievements in the industry in the categories “Function & Components”, “Materials & Nature” and “Textile & Machinery”.

“This competition underlines the importance of the value-added factor ‘design’. Our award winners successfully use the label to positively differentiate themselves from the competition in a large market,” said Maik Fischer, Director “Interzum”.  Professor Dr. Peter Zec, initiator and CEO of Red Dot, adds: “In these also economically difficult times, it is all the more important to communicate one’s own achievements with self-confidence. An award in the interzum award shows that a company is one of the innovation drivers in the industry.”

Participation in the “Interzum Award” is free of charge

The categories for which one can submit a product include:

Function & Components

Lighting and (digital) lighting systems, semi-finished products for case, kitchen, office and frame furniture, fittings, (digital) locks, furniture components, hinges, connectors, etc.

Materials & Nature

Wood, veneer, parquet, interior finishes, decorative surfaces, decorative papers, laminates, wood-based materials, laminates, solid surface materials, edgebands, surface treatments, embossing cylinders, sheet metal, natural materials, etc.

Textile & Machinery

Machinery for upholstery and mattress production, upholstery materials, upholstery accessories, cover materials, leather, adhesives, temperature and humidity sensors for mattresses, smart textiles (light conducting or similar), etc.

A jury will evaluate the competition entries in terms of their design quality, their innovation potential, and aspects such as sustainability or a sensible integration of digital components. A total of six jurors will jointly decide on the entries, awarding “High Product Quality” prizes and recognizing outstanding achievements that set new standards as “Best of the Best”.

The jury is composed of: Martin Auerbach (Chief Executive Officer of the Association of the German Home Textile Industry e. V. and, as part of a cooperation with the Association of Interior Privacy and Sun Protection e. V. and the Association of Mattress Industry its managing director, Wuppertal), Martin Beeh (founder and owner of Beeh_Innovation, initiator of “Materials Cologne – The Conference for Design and Innovation” and university lecturer for design management, Cologne ), Annette Lang (designer, Annette Lang Product Design, Wiesbaden), Dick Spierenburg (designer, Spierenburg Studio, Tienhoven), Prof. Martin Stosch (lecturer for industrial furniture construction, Department of Production and Wood Technology, OWL University of Applied Sciences, Lemgo) and

Prof. Dr. Peter Zec (Initiator and CEO of Red Dot, Essen).

The judging will take place on April 20 and the notification of results will follow on April 21 and 22.

The awards will be presented online on May 4.

Further information about the award and the possibility to register can be found here.