For me, that was definitely the day of the construction meeting with the then owner of Messehochhaus 1 shortly before we moved in. I was one of few Koelnmesse employees allowed to enter the high-rise building beforehand because of the major refurbishment work that had been carried out. No one was allowed in without a “DEGI pass.” Meanwhile, we worked internally on our own utilisation options and made countless plans, floor by floor. I should point out that we didn’t even get the floor plans for the individual floors from the owner.

As an external architect, my team drew up a masterplan for Koelnmesse entitled “P95.” It was intended as a look ahead into the future to the year 1995. I designed the former connecting hall 4, which later became Hall 1 and is now Confex. When I entered Hall 1 for the first time, I was awestruck, but also proud.

During my first few weeks at Koelnmesse, I’d spoken a few times on the phone to a Mr Kriz. One day, I saw two men talking in the corridor. I didn’t know either of them, but I heard the name Kriz. I went right over to them, greeted them both warmly and introduced myself, pleased to finally meet Mr Kriz in person. One of the men smiled and said that he wasn’t Mr Kriz. I insisted that I’d heard the name. The man finally introduced himself as Dieter Ebert, the managing director of Koelnmesse at that time. That was pretty embarrassing.

To answer the “is” question first, my favourite is – and will remain – the furniture and interiors fair imm. I’ve always felt at home in the world of furniture, even as a young man and later as an architecture student. What was my favourite? Definitely and by some way: the Popkomm. It turned Cologne upside down! As an amateur musician, I didn’t know which stage to visit first.

In my almost 35 years of active work for Koelnmesse, I witnessed and helped to shape many structural changes. If you look at the old and new site maps, you can see that there only used to be the Rheinhallen, which have existed since 1924. The transformation to the digital world was also very formative. As a member of the Economic Committee at the time, I was unfortunately unable to push through the prioritisation of digital equipment for the technical area. This department was therefore the last to be supplied with PCs, although modern demands – for a CAD system, for example – called for special computer conditions. Looking back, that was a real obstacle.

I have experienced Koelnmesse from various perspectives – from the very top and from the very bottom. The original Messeturm – or trade fair tower – which was built for the “Pressa” press exhibition in 1928, offered an impressive view of the entire trade fair grounds and the city of Cologne. Today, the high-rise Messehochhaus 1 is slightly taller and offers an equally spectacular view. “Life underneath Koelnmesse” was also interesting. The extensive cellar rooms, with storage spaces, technical rooms and connecting corridors were a real challenge when I was first finding my way around.