Sebastian Zenker on Munich Design Days 2027 at Haus der Kunst, fabric panels as trade show architecture, and why curated formats are becoming more economically attractive for exhibitors.

Munich Design Days continues to grow. In 2027, Praterinsel will remain the central anchor, but with the Westgalerie at Haus der Kunst, a new venue is being added that is more than just extra space. The theater hall is not a neutral exhibition room. It brings history, scale, gravity, and public visibility.

For the staging, the organizers are working with Sebastian Zenker. The Munich-based interior designer founded his studio, Sebastian Zenker Interior Design, in 2017 and, together with his team, works across high-end private interiors, hospitality, gastronomy, retail, and office projects. For the theater hall, Zenker is developing a structure made of rows of fabric panels. They are meant to guide visitors, frame brands, and respond to the architecture of the building without overpowering it.

That sounds sensitive. But it also sounds ambitious. Anyone who brings a young design format into Haus der Kunst has to prove that growth means more than simply adding square footage.

furnomics: Munich Design Days is moving into Haus der Kunst. Praterinsel, Westgalerie, theater hall — is that the right level of ambition, or is there a hint of overreach in it?
Sebastian Zenker: Not at all. It would be overreach if we went in there acting as if we could play Ai Weiwei or Christo. But that is exactly what we are not doing. Haus der Kunst is not a neutral space that you can simply occupy. What matters is respect for the place, a realistic view of the budget, and ultimately, function. This is not just about a beautiful installation. It is about booths, exhibitors, circulation, and visitors.

furnomics: So no grand gesture against the building?
Sebastian Zenker: No. The building has history, tradition, and very strong architecture. If you create something inside it, you first have to engage with the building itself. The architecture already gives you a lot: columns, high rooms, this clear structure. We did not want to do anything that weakens that or works against it.

furnomics: The result: fabric panels.
Sebastian Zenker: Exactly. We asked ourselves how to avoid chopping up the large room while still making it experiential. Together with my colleague Grzegorz Bochenek, we developed the concept internally. The fabric panels hang down from above, creating passages, zones, and small niches for the exhibitors. At the same time, they bring textile materiality into Haus der Kunst and create a bridge to Münchner Stofffrühling.

furnomics: That sounds more like a frame than a show.
Sebastian Zenker: It is deliberately that way. At first, we also considered working with a strong color or a pattern. But every manufacturer brings its own color world, its own furniture, and its own design language. If the installation then becomes loud as well, it quickly turns into too much. So we stay calmer and create more of a neutral frame.

furnomics: Who does this space have to work for first: the exhibitors, the audience — or the business being done there?
Sebastian Zenker: First and foremost, for the exhibitor. With this concept, you are attracting manufacturers and saying: Come, exhibit with us, rent space here. It has to work for them. At the same time, of course, the circulation and the visitor experience have to work as well. But the exhibitor needs a framework in which they become visible.

furnomics: Visibility is not a side issue at a trade show.
Sebastian Zenker: Not at all. That is why our system is flexible. It is based on a grid. If a manufacturer wants to take two parcels, they can do that without the concept falling apart. The graphic line structure holds everything together.

furnomics: Can people also recognize Sebastian Zenker Interior Design in it?
Sebastian Zenker: Maybe not at first glance. But if you know, then yes. Our logo consists of stripes. Those kinds of graphic lines have accompanied my designs for years. The rows of fabric panels are therefore also a small reference to our own design signature.

furnomics: So you are not only staging furniture, but also a bit of your own signature.
Sebastian Zenker: A little, yes. But carefully. The space is meant to work for the show and for the exhibitors, not just to promote our studio.

furnomics: The industry likes to talk about atmosphere and experience. But in the end, manufacturers have to sell. Can smaller, curated formats become more economically attractive than large trade show appearances?
Sebastian Zenker: I think so. The tendency is strong. You can see it in formats like Copenhagen, where many people return and say: It was beautiful, you were close to the manufacturers, you could easily go into showrooms. Very large shows, by contrast, quickly become exhausting. Sometimes you stand in line for a long time just to see an installation.

furnomics: So less size, more proximity?
Sebastian Zenker: Yes. And also less friction. If I do not have extremely high hotel costs, if I can stay in the city and still see good manufacturers, that is attractive. Munich has good conditions for this: the city has strong purchasing power and is easy to reach from Austria, Switzerland, and neighboring countries.

furnomics: When people talk about large trade show formats, Cologne quickly comes up in the industry. Is this exact uncertainty the opportunity for smaller, curated formats like Munich Design Days?
Sebastian Zenker: For me, Cologne is more of an example of the question of whether large classic formats will continue to play the same role in the long term as they once did. My personal opinion is that such formats could come under increasing pressure. I don’t know whether Munich Design Days will replace large shows. But they point in an interesting direction: smaller, closer, more curated.

furnomics: Especially for brands that are not among the international heavyweights?
Sebastian Zenker: Exactly. Next to the really big names, you can disappear quickly. A format like Munich Design Days can give more attention to companies that come from the region or are strong in the German-speaking market. I find that interesting.

furnomics: How did you end up designing the theater hall in the first place?
Sebastian Zenker: The organizers know me from the Munich design scene and from various collaborations at Münchner Stofffrühling. We had a beautiful and visually strong event in our showroom. I think that concept made an impression. Then the first discussions about expanding Munich Design Days began.

furnomics: Did Haus der Kunst sound immediately tempting?
Sebastian Zenker: Absolutely. I thought: how clever. Central, right in the city, easy to reach. And at the same time, of course, a challenge. You cannot simply put just anything in there. The place forces you to be precise.

furnomics: Your studio otherwise works mainly in private interiors. How is Sebastian Zenker Interior Design positioned today?
Sebastian Zenker: I founded the studio in 2017. Today we are a team of ten, mainly interior designers, plus two architects. That is important because interior design sometimes moves into architecture: additions, extensions, permits.

furnomics: Not a classic decorator.
Sebastian Zenker: Absolutely not (laughs). We are very well positioned technically. Our focus is on very high-end private interiors. But we also do restaurants, bars, hotels, offices, and retail stores. I really like that mix, and it makes things twice as exciting.

furnomics: How does that break down economically?
Sebastian Zenker: Roughly 60 to 70 percent is private. The rest is divided among restaurants, bars, hotels, stores, sometimes offices. Of course, that shifts depending on the phase. Sometimes you have two hotels going at the same time, sometimes more private projects.

furnomics: So strategically, the private sector carries you.
Sebastian Zenker: Yes. That is where we have been able to establish ourselves particularly well over the years. In the private sector, demand remains strong. And in the Munich area, in Kitzbühel, Mallorca, or Italy, beautiful houses are being built — that carries us. If you relied only on office projects, it could become difficult. COVID, economic downturns, working from home — all of that changes demand quickly.

furnomics: Still, the premium segment has been under pressure recently.
Sebastian Zenker: Retail continues to suffer. And the general mood in the world weighs on people. When people are doing well, they order another glass of wine on vacation more quickly. It is similar with real estate. When the economy is flourishing, people are more likely to buy a second home. The money is there. It is just not being spent quite as readily right now.

furnomics: Still, you say the private market is running.
Sebastian Zenker: In our segment, yes. Of course, not completely detached from mood and the economy. But we often operate at a level where projects do not necessarily depend on financing or credit. That makes a difference.

furnomics: If the private market is your economic foundation, why do restaurants, bars, and hotels at all?
Sebastian Zenker: Because it is fun and creatively challenging. New tasks bring a different perspective. We recently completed a bowling alley in Munich. At first, you think of used shoes, bad food, maybe a shabby basement. But it can actually be a great place: a good bar, good drinks, good food, atmosphere.

furnomics: So those places have to be recoded.
Sebastian Zenker: Yes. You take a task that perhaps triggers a less-than-ideal image in your head at first, and you ask: What could this place actually be? With a bowling alley, the lanes are standardized; you cannot reinvent that in terms of design. But with a bar, lighting, color, and an inviting atmosphere that makes people want to stay, you can create a whole world. That immersion interests me.

furnomics: Do you transfer that to Munich Design Days as well?
Sebastian Zenker: Yes and no. The place is fantastic. But there, too, it is about circulation, sightlines, atmosphere, and how people move through a space. Whether it is a store, restaurant, bar, hotel, supermarket, or show: everything is designed. Even when it is not designed consciously, something is still there in the end — and it shapes our environment.

furnomics: When would the theater hall at Haus der Kunst be a success for you?
Sebastian Zenker: If the furniture almost becomes art objects inside it. Visitors should walk through and experience the whole thing like an exhibition. Not paintings, but furniture. They are guided through a circulation system, see curated furniture design, experience no sensory overload, and leave the building with the feeling: that was a beautiful, valuable staging.

furnomics: So not as much trade show as possible on as little space as possible.
Sebastian Zenker: No. That would be the wrong approach. It is about framework, rhythm, and clarity. If we achieve that, it will be a success.

furnomics: And will you achieve it?
Sebastian Zenker: Absolutely.