The first time I visited Cologne (Koln), Germany was in the mid ’80s on a high school summer exchange program. When you’re a kid far from home in a foreign country, everything is a marvel. My classmates and I were awed by the gothic flamboyance of the Koln Dom (cathedral), the central attraction of the city. The two heaven-reaching towers, multiple flying buttresses, sneering gargoyles and stained glass windows were dazzling in their medieval splendor. It is a masterpiece that took over 700 years to complete. The Dom can hold 20,000 people and covers an area of 8,000 sq. meters. It is a well-known fact that Koln had been leveled during the Allied air raids of WWII. The story of how the Dom survived obliteration and stands today is a miracle.
I couldn’t wait to explore it.
In our youthful exhuberance, my classmates and I climbed the 800 time-worn, spiraling steps of the Dom’s south tower. From there we had an eagle-eye perspective of the western part of the city. Cars, pedestrians, bikes and train station all bustled on the narrow streets far below. What stood out as an anomaly in the middle of that typically European scene were the Golden Arches of a McDonalds restaurant. Famished from our climb, we raced down to get a taste of classic American fast food, one we hadn’t had for weeks. The experience was similar to craving an American coffee and dashing to the nearest Starbucks to get a fix! At that time, McD’s, Coca Cola and Nike were the only global brands we paid any attention to.
Koln has changed, of course, in the 20+ years since I had last visited. Despite constant renovation, the Dom looks blackened and worn from weather and pollution. Still, it defiantly endures, and the sight of it pulls fond memories of my younger years. The Koln I experienced this time showed more buildings, more cars, more shops…and of course, more global brands. A Virgin Records store. Toyota automobiles. Stella Artois beer. The Intercontinental hotel chain.
In Koln as elsewhere in Europe, there is very much a mixing of historical and modern architecture. Here we see one of 12 Romanesque churches in Koln, the Grosse St. Martin (1150 AD?).
It is located directly behind the folklorically colored shops on the Rhine promenade in the Old Town. Even though the neighbhorhoods look antique, many of them were rebuilt in the years after the war.
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Elsewhere in Koln a modern office complex offers roof-top dining with spectacular views. Colored lights create a theatrical backdrop in this sophisticated, contemporary restaurant. |
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The FARBE show held April 17-21 was well-attended. Three exhibition halls showed the best of the best from the European paint manufacturers and supporting industries. Exhibitors and attendees came from all over the globe: We met people from Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia. |
Special highlights of the show:
The Colwell booth featured the new Colwell brand. The fresh white and orange color scheme was showcased in a clean minimal, modernist style. The graphics were an attention-grabbing abstraction of the new Colwell logo.
The RAL booth showed color swatches mounted on a thin display full of bubbling, swirling water. It was an innovative way to highlight their new water borne product, created by Colwell.
There was an area in the exhibition dedicated solely to color and trendspotting.
Texture and pattern were just as important as color.
Interior colors ranged from midrange pastels to heavy and deep accents.
Red played an important role, as did black.
Exterior colors tended to stay in the midrange earthtones.
