Cologne’s autumn weather was generally kind to this year’s Orgatec visitors, unlike the Lufthansa pilots whose one day strike kept first day numbers down and caused considerable frustration. Normal service was quickly resumed however and the efficient machine which is Europe’s largest office furniture show moved smoothly into top gear with all the excitement, colour, noise and bustle one has come to expect from the bringing together of so many specialists from all parts of the world. The six massive halls, housing about 600 exhibition stands, are loosely held together by a wide ‘Boulevard’ and require the intrepid visitor who doesn’t want to miss out on anything to walk and walk, and walk.

Some of the initial fair chatter is always about comparing this Orgatec with those of past years. Fewer halls? Visitor numbers down? Missing companies? New market entrants? Where is so-and-so? The most notable last-minute absentee was Bene, whose well publicised difficulties meant that their usual large space in Hall 9 was handed to Haworth who made very good use of it. Whether the show was slightly more compact than previously or if there were slightly fewer attendees really didn’t matter. There was a real feast for exhibitors and visitors alike; most of the time the show was open, there were just as many seriously interested buyers, dealers and specifiers as most companies could handle. And there was more than enough choice for the most particular of visitor; every type, style, design, colour, technology and theory of office furniture was represented many times over, and coming from every part of the world.

The hum of serious business was everywhere. The fact that the show is only held every two years means that it is real event, with manufacturers timing their design and development programmes and product launches to coincide with Octobers in even-numbered years. And the huddles one sees on stands and in cafés and corridors are evidence of the many international one-to-one meetings which are fixed for when it is known that everyone who is anyone from the world of office furniture will be around.

Orgatec is not a frolic; it’s a serious working show. The high cost of exhibiting means that companies make sure their products are perfect, their staff well trained and their objectives in being at the show are clearly defined. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any fun. There are evening parties and entertaining a-plenty and hospitality on some of the stands during the show is bountiful. Lunchtime at Vitra’s stand resembled feeding time at Cologne’s zoo.

The trends

By far and away the most prevalent trend focused on matters acoustic. There was some evidence of this in 2012, but this year, it was everywhere. Companies which have never been known for anything other than workstations, task seating or storage, suddenly found themselves in the land of fabrics, presenting brightly coloured enclosures, high-backed and hooded chairs, screens and furniture for quiet working spaces.

Benches were kept alive by changes of colour; far less pure white, surface areas being separated with screens with some sound absorbency properties and lots of accessories, some of dubious practicality. Many new chair products were either finely sculptured injection mouldings or low, casual, wide-winged affairs.

There was some increase in the use of wood and wood finishes, perhaps as part of a more domestic, homely feel to many of the products from Sedus, Fritz Hansen, Vitra and others. There were also new fibre-based products on show because of the emphasis on acoustics, with several companies such as Vehyl using coloured and shaped panels pressed and formed as visual barriers with sound absorbing characteristics.

Colours were bright; really bright with yellow, orange, scarlet and bright blue in abundance. Some of this was clearly to catch the eye of the visitor but the theme seemed to be linked to the soft and breakout seating products, as if companies were happy to throw off the shackles of sombre coloured, ultra practical workstations, task seating or storage products.