Following the successful premiere in 2018, the PASSAGEN 2020 was the third time that the PASSAGEN Prize for up-and-coming designers was awarded. Karoline Fesser, Klemens Grund, Tim Kerp and Thomas Schnur were awarded for their designs and the staging of the exhibition Generation Cologne trifft Bregenzerwald, on view at the Galerie Martina Kaiser in the Belgian Quarter, a PASSAGEN hotspot.

GENERATION KÖLN has created furniture designs – in discourse with craftsmen living in the Bregenzerwald (Austria). An important aspect was that the inspiration from the landscapes, traditions and building culture of the Bregenzerwald should be clearly visible and tangible. This was more than successful, not least due to the use of the typical Bregenzerwald material silver fir. “The result is an impressive collection of modern furniture, made in the tradition of craftsmanship and perfection. This work, this collection, this entire project in all its facets, sets standards and can hardly be surpassed”, says Wolfgang Laubersheimer (designer and director of the Köln International School of Design), spokesman for the jury. Alongside him, the jury for the PASSAGEN Prize includes Daniela Wanko (KölnBusiness Wirtschaftsförderungs-GmbH), Sabine Voggenreiter (PASSAGEN, curator, Cologne), Lutz Dietzold (German Design Council, Frankfurt) and Moritz Putzier (product designer and scenographer, Cologne).

The competition focuses on the interplay of product and staging. The award goes to the best design in the field of interior design, textiles, lighting or interior architecture in combination with the respective exhibition design. PASSAGEN/Sabine Voggenreiter are holding the award, together with the German Design Council. Supported by KölnBusiness Wirtschaftsförderungs-GmbH.

After a tour of the nominated exhibitions at the opening of PASSAGEN, on 13 January, an independent jury selected the 2020 prize-winning project.
The PASSAGEN Prize 2020 was ceremonially awarded on 14.01. in Hallmackenreuther.