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Nu Look

ROCA BROUGHT A SPLASH OF COLOUR TO PROCEEDINGS WITH NU, A VIBRANT NEW COLLECTION CREATED BY SPANISH DESIGNER INMA BERMÚDEZ...

The collection features three handle designs, a palette of bright colours and a variety of shapes and sizes. The collection also includes options for washbasins, bidets, showers, bathtubs, and the kitchen.

Among the options are three different handles – Pin, Dome and Stripes – which come in six glossy colours inspired by Roca’s Mediterranean heritage, including green, blue, yellow, black, white and chrome.

uk.roca.com

Dream Bathrooms

BATHROOM BRAND HANSGROHE PRESENTED ITS ‘DREAM BATHROOM’ CONCEPTS AT ISH, EACH AIMING TO BRING A NEW PERSPECTIVE TO THE MOST PERSONAL OF SPACES IN THE HOME...

The brand invited design studio Ippolito Fleitz Group to create three concepts intended to act as a tool for inspiration at trade fairs, in showrooms, and online, with each of the designs taking a different approach to user needs through create use of surfaces, materials, lighting and accessories. See full details on the concepts and the thinking behind them at designerati.co.uk hansgrohe.co.uk, ifgroup.org

Valet Service

RAK-VALET IS LATEST COLLABORATION BETWEEN MANUFACTURER RAK CERAMICS AND FRENCH DESIGNER PATRICK NORGUET. The range embodies the designer’s concept of the valet as ‘at your service’, offering shapes and dimensions to best meet the needs of its user. Consisting of washbasins, a bathtub and several accessories, the collection comes in a matt or glossy finish. rakceramics.com

Future Vision

RAK CERAMICS ALSO SHOWCASED ITS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES...

...and how they could be applied to the design and manufacture of washbasins with a demonstration of 3D printing technology. The manufacturer believes that such processes bring a number of important advantages over traditional casting techniques, enabling on-demand, scalable, and highly creative designs that can be produced with less waste, since 3D printing production is additive rather than done by taking material away from a larger block. rakceramics.com

ISH in numbers

RETURN OF THE EVENT AFTER A 4-YEAR ABSENCE

2,025 EXHIBITORS FROM 54 COUNTRIES

154,000 VISITORS FROM 154 COUNTRIES 44% OF VISITORS FROM OUTSIDE OF GERMANY

German designer Christian Werner has created the Vitrium range for bathroom brand Duravit, unifying a new mineral casting manufacturing technique for washbasins with a bold, mixed-material furniture line-up

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE VITRIUM COLLECTION.

“Vitrium is based around an aluminium frame which gives it the main characteristic. At ISH, we showed the version with the glass front. The idea for me was to bring more cozyness to the bathroom. This is a space within the home where people like to have beautiful towels and toiletries so I thought ‘why hide them?’”

“The glass front makes the furniture act like a vitrine in which you can arrange and display these beautiful items. It’s backlit which adds to the atmosphere in the bathroom and reflects the fact that lighting has become an increasingly important part of the space, especially when it comes to the versatility. I have different feelings towards the bathroom in the morning compared to the evening: in the morning I want to be energised and invigorated; in the evening it is more about contem- plation, relaxation and calming down. So there needs to be a completely different light. The backlighting in this glass-fronted version almost gives a warming fireplace effect in the evening.”

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE KEY AIMS FOR THE DESIGN OF THE RANGE?

“The important thing is to give the user these ideas and to tell the story of what’s possible – ultimately, the main thing is to offer these choices to enable them to use the space in exactly the way they wish. As a designer, of course I want to be able to tell a story with these designs, but I am always concerned not to impose that on the user. It ultimately has to be about their own story. That’s why much more important than what I have to say about it, is the way in which the user can play with it, and assimilate it into their own personal

Below: “I made this round basin to a slightly bigger dimension to the furniture, creating a contrast and an interplay between the two,” explains designer Christian Werner. “It enables a lot more flexibility to work with smaller bathrooms, particularly those in which you approach the basin from the side.” story. With the L-Cube and Ketho designs for Duravit, I was careful to just bring it down, to simplify, and take care to let the customer determine how it should be.

“My designs must always be functional, but on top of that there has to be much, much more too. There has to be a sensitivity and an emotional aspect which, for me, is very important.”

DOES THE COLLECTION FOCUS SOLELY ON THIS OPEN, VISIBLE AESTHETIC?

“The glass is an important part of the collection, but of course such visibility is not to everyone’s tastes. As well as glass, there are fronts in white gloss and wood finishes, because I respect that some people will prefer things to be a little more hidden away. These options are equally beautiful, and in fact it can work especially well to mix them up, so that some sections are glass and others not. It is an open game for the user to play with.”

HOW DO YOU DESIGN FOR SIMPLICITY? WHEN DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO STOP CHANGING OR

ENHANCING A DESIGN TO AVOID OVER-COMPLICATING IT?

“For me, it is just gut instinct, a feeling. It is a constant aim to find the perfect balance between ‘simplicity’ and ‘too much’. Some designers take ideas directly from something that has triggered an idea, but I tend to find my inspiration from within, often through a complete mix of different things I have seen.

“I feel like I’m always collecting images in my mind. I’m a very visual person, so I see many different things when I travel and store them, but the way in which my simple mind explores them and draws on them is sometimes hard to define or explain. It just works. I think I’m more of a professional daydreamer.”

DOES THAT MEAN YOU CAN NEVER SWITCH OFF THE CREATIVE, DESIGN-FOCUSED MIND?

“No, I can’t. But that does not mean it is always turned up to the maximum. You have to put yourself in the right mood, and I sometimes feel when I am getting a creative push and I’ve learned when to recognise that and to harness it.”

“I think all of the best designs I’ve created are when I have designed for myself. When I consider how I want to live, what I want to surround myself with, what kind of beautiful-yetfunctional things I want in my life. This is the main source of my inspiration. I’m not an analytic person, I’m very intuitive and I’m drawing the whole day. I think with my pen in my hand.

HOW DO YOU BRING THIS TO BEAR ON YOUR WORK FOR CLIENTS?

“One of the good things about working with Duravit over the years is having the freedom to design. Of course, you have to know which segment and market position we need to create for, but then beyond that, the designer needs the creative freedom to explore how to fulfil that brief. Often, design starts with a question: Is this possible? Can we achieve that? This is how we developed the C-bonded technology – I asked the head of production whether it would be possible to have the wood and the ceramic in an almost seamless form. It took three years for the technicians to develop a machine that made it possible, and now they have a worldwide patent on that.

“But these ideas don’t ever become reality if you are simply following lines that you have already learned. Part of my job is to question everything. If you do not do that then it becomes impossible to take any forward steps. Some manufacturers will say ‘no, we have to do it this way because we always have’. Duravit are not like this at all. They are determined to lead with new ideas and that makes them fun and professional to work with.” duravit.co.uk, christian-werner.com