PASSAGEN 2018 will be kicking off the international design season with projects, exhibitions and installations by the crème de la crème of the international design scene, once again unfolding a spectacular panorama in the design city of Cologne: the protagonists include independent designers and young networks, universities, newcomers, institutions, architects, design media and intermediaries. For one week, they will be located next to each other, like pearls on a string, wending their way along the different routes through the city centre, the ‘Ring’ boulevard and the Rheinauhafen quarter and with shows and events in Deutz and in Cologne’s creative neighbourhoods of Belgisches Viertel and Ehrenfeld, offering once again 100% Design. PASSAGEN will be presenting pure design, as well as design in interaction with architecture in the urban context. Social and societal challenges for design will also be highlighted, in particular topics such as sustainability, aesthetics and popular culture, and the crossover of design, transformation and urbanism. As a platform for current trends in design, architecture, interior design and urban lifestyles, PASSAGEN will again be the temporary ‘design mecca’. In January, the whole of Cologne will be ‘going design’, becoming both a ‘fountain of youth’ for established design classics and a stepping stone for young talent. It’s showtime! – Sabine Voggenreiter