ORGATEC 2026 Cologne | Office Design and imm Cologne 2027 News
Last month I visited ORGATEC for a day on invitation of the fair, ORGATEC is the leading international trade fair for the future of work. I visited the fair before in 2024 when I joined a Design Tour organised by Orgatec showing us a few of the many brands and their latest collections. This year I got the chance to explore on my own. Something I always enjoy as it gives me more time to explore the brands I selected beforehand. I discovered new brands and had to skip some that were really crowded as it was impossible to look at the furniture or make pictures.
I had already seen how offices were moving away from the traditional office grey towards warmer, more inviting and comfortable spaces. This year, that development seemed to have expanded even further. Here are a few things I noticed at this year’s edition.
Large, organically shaped seating areas
Large seating arrangements with organically curved shapes appeared at several stands. These areas offered space for meetings and informal gatherings, with sofas and lounge furniture arranged in a more homely setting. Pictured above ‘The Hub’ by Francesco Rota for Lapalma Similar seating arrangements could be found at Pedrali Spa pictured below. Cor, Muuto, and Inclass to name a few.
Warm wood in the office
Wood was another material I noticed throughout the fair. Pictured above at String, but also at Janua, and Artisan, pictured below, wod was used in different furniture designs and office settings. I also liked the Balea bench by Akaba, with its curved shape, shown below.
A lot of burgundy and brown
When it came to colour, burgundy was hard to miss. I saw it at many different stands and in all kinds of applications. Brown appeared in many shades, alongside deep green and cobalt blue. There were also occasional touches of light blue, lemon yellow and butter yellow. Above one of the office chairs by Kettal and below stools by Johansson No need to tell we saw a lot of chrome as well.
More options for privacy & Acoustic Solutions
Privacy was another recurring subject, with different types of phone and meeting booths on display. These ranged from fully enclosed pods to colourful, upholstered semi-private seating areas. Examples could be found at Pedrali Spa ,above, Kettal, Sedus, Palmberg, and Framery.
I also visited the private pavilions at the special exhibition dedicated to the Eames Pavilion System by Eamesoffice x kettal. Above a sneak peek inside. With the modular elements from Molo , spaces can be divided or temporary environments created without the need for fixed walls.
Buzzi Space, above and Slalom slalom.acoustic below, showed acoustic solutions, combining sound absorption with carefully considered design.
I really loved this edition, and it felt good to be back at Köln messe, the fairground with the best memories made in the last ten years I cover fairs. With 5 hals it was the perfect size to get a good impression on what is happening in Office Design.
This article is a short selection of my impressions from the fair, bringing together some of the things I noticed during my visit. I also wanted to share a little more than the Instagram Stories and Reels I posted at the time, and keep these observations here on vosgesparis. For more photos, videos and a closer look at the stands, have a look at my ORGATEC Stories and Reels on Instagram.
Fair News from Koelnmesse – imm cologne will not take place in January 2027
Koelnmesse has announced that imm cologne will not take place in January 2027. The decision follows continued difficult market conditions in the furniture industry and a lower than needed response to the fair’s new direction in 2026, including the number of registrations for the next edition.
Cologne will continue to host several events for the furniture and interiors industry. idd cologne took place alongside ORGATEC in October 2026, with more than 140 participating brands. ORGATEC welcomed over 40,000 visitors from 121 countries.
From January 2027, Koelnmesse will also take full operational responsibility for Design Post Köln, adding the venue permanently to its trade fair and event programme. Other events planned in Cologne include interzum, returning from 11 to 14 May 2027.
ORGATEC around the world
Besides Cologne, the ORGATEC brand is also present in Tokyo, India and Saudi Arabia. The international editions are part of Koelnmesse’s growing portfolio of trade fairs for the workplace and contract interiors sector. Tokyo sounds like a real dream destination and I am really curious how a fair like ORGATEC would look in Japan!
All images ©vosgesparis
For more impressions from ORGATEC 2026, have a look at my Instagram Highlight
My visit to ORGATEC was part of a paid collaboration with the fair.
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