World-renown designer and architect, Patricia Urquiola, presented her design installation for Heimtextil 25/26, at the show’s opening press conference, this past week. Joining Patricia to open the Heimtextil 2025 installation was Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt.
A Visionary Collaboration: Patricia Urquiola and Heimtextil Join Forces
"Among-us" celebrates togetherness and the creation of new connections. The installation fosters a sense of community and shared experience. The partnership between Patricia Urquiola and Heimtextil was two years in the making and every detail was executed to perfection. To create the holistically designed space, collaborative partners. Patricia Urquiola brought in partners Kvadrat, Moroso, and cc-Tapis and more, to lend their expertise. These partners helped create a space that offers a glimpse into the future of textile design for hospitality and contract markets.
Exploring "among-us": Immersive Textile Design
Urquiola orchestrated a playful color palette, shapes, and contrast of textures for Heimtextil 2025. The result is a space that is fresh, innovative and feels reflective of the future of textile design. When approaching the perimeter of the installation, you are presented with a lilac and contrasting, large-scale bright orange grid. The overall effect is a forward-thinking vision of textile design.
The installation invites exploration, showcasing the designer's collaboration with various trade partners. Each partner brings a unique expertise, enriching the overall experience.
Playful, unpretentious, and inviting, the installation explores the possibilities. Possibilities in textiles as well as relationships. Relationships between materials, collaborators, and between people and how they use the space.
More Than Just Seating: Modular Design Encourages Interaction and Activity
During my time at Heimtextil 2025, I took some downtime and spent part of the afternoon in one of the Moroso modular seating lounges. (Tired legs are definitely a thing when you're doing 20k+ steps at a trade show!) There, I personally observed people's interactions with the space and how they used it. I expected people to sit for a moment to regroup and then move on, but that was only one of the scenarios I saw.
In one seating area, I observed a woman working on a computer with her papers spread around her. Another woman situated herself next to the connected modular table, where she placed her snack. Then there were two unrelated people sleeping back-to-back on opposite ends of a chaise; one of them was sound asleep and snoring heavily! A couple eventually claimed the coveted chaise spot, and I witnessed a man relaxing and basking in the attention while his female companion stroked his head and ran her fingers through his imaginary strands of hair. It was fun playing voyeur for the afternoon!
This is also why I am a fan of modular seating in a public setting – it invites a variety of activities, and people use it well.
Patricia Urquiola's Heimtextil 2025 installation was a truly refreshing addition to the show. Her collaborative approach, bringing together designers and vendors to explore the future of textiles, offered a compelling vision for the industry. Hopefully, Heimtextil will continue to showcase such innovative installations in future editions, providing essential context and inspiration for the evolution of textile design.
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