An interview with Masayo Ave, designer and jury member

Important indicator: the interzum award 2025

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The time has come again at the upcoming interzum: the outstanding innovations in the supplier industry for furniture and interior design will be honoured with the interzum award 2025. An international jury of experts will then present the industry's most important award. As a renowned jury member, Japanese designer Masayo Ave focuses on material science and experimental design. We talk to her about her expectations of this year's competition and the pioneering significance of the industry award.

View of the interzum trade fair boulevard with visitors

As the most important industry award, the interzum award recognizes outstanding innovations in the furniture and interior design supply industry. Copyright: Koelnmesse

Dynamic marketplace

How would you describe the significance of the interzum for furniture and interior design?

If imm cologne as a furniture fair embodies the vibrant market for "cooked dishes," then interzum stands as the dynamic marketplace for "fresh ingredients," which are essential to enhancing the overall quality and appeal of those culinary creations. Just as fresh ingredients elevate and stimulate the quality of everyday meals, the innovative materials and systems showcased at interzum play a crucial role in shaping the sustainable future of furniture.

What influence will the results of the interzum award have on this future?

Suppliers worldwide who have won the interzum award serve the furniture and interior design industry by showcasing the most updated and exciting technical developments, materials, product innovations, concepts and processes. They are front-runners in shaping the new standard of sustainable furniture, yet the future of the consumer’s everyday life, ensuring that each piece of furniture and interior design is not only functional but also a delight for the senses.

With her own design studio and as founder of the Sensory Design Experience Laboratory in Berlin, Masayo Ave focuses on material science and experimental design. Copyright: Masayo Ave

Submissions as an important indicator

How would you rate the quality in the various product categories when selecting the award-winning innovations?

I found the quality to be very high. I greatly appreciate the suppliers' efforts to enhance furniture and interior design through nearly invisible but groundbreaking innovations made inch by inch.

What special themes or focal points have you observed in this year's submissions?

The new interzum theme, "Rethinking Resources: Circular and Biobased Solutions," is a significant indicator of our commitment to sustainable practices. The suppliers demonstrate their crucial role in advancing sustainable management of raw materials and the product life cycle, particularly in light of urgent environmental pollution and destruction issues.

View of a hall at Koelnmesse with submissions for the interzum award.

The submissions for the interzum award are evaluated and honored by an international jury of experts. Copyright: Koelnmesse

Conserving resources as an essential practice

With the central theme “Rethinking Resources”, interzum 2025 is focusing on sustainability. Where do you see the most exciting developments in the submissions?

It's impressive that using natural waste resources and proposing a closed production-consumption cycle is becoming an essential practice for the world's top suppliers, even under limited circumstances. However, the scientific understanding of environmental issues continually reveals the problems, which updates our definition of sustainability.

Can you give an example of this?

Material recycling often falls short of its ideal, as scientists have demonstrated that recycled plastic-based materials can contribute to other critical environmental issues, such as microplastic pollution, which poses very critical health risks. Therefore, after reconsidering resources, I foresee that "rethinking reparability" will emerge as a key theme and an innovative concept for extending the lifespan of products. This approach allows for longer-lasting products through sophisticated replacements and dynamic transformations.

What inspiration do you take away from your jury participation in the interzum award for your own work?

I hope the insights from day-to-day developments and innovations showcased at the interzum award, which support the future of furniture and interior design, become a core subject of design education for both designers and consumers.

At interzum 2025, the exhibits of the award winners will be presented in the interzum award exhibition on Boulevard Nord from May 20 to 23.