ABLUTION EVOLUTI N

ONE OF THE NEW ADDITIONS TO IDEAL STANDARD’S PORTFOLIO IS ALU+. FROM A DESIGN PERSPECTIVE – AND AS SOMEONE WHO HAS CREATED SO EXTENSIVELY WITH CERAMIC AND BRASSWARE – WHAT IS IT LIKE WORKING WITH ALUMINIUM? DOES IT PRESENT SPECIFIC CHALLENGES?

“For sure. When you work from brass you can do things that you can’t do with other materials. At the same time, working with aluminium gives you the chance to do things that you can’t do with brass, but other things become not possible. It means developing a whole new form of technology to enable us to work with such a material and is a new world to explore. That’s what we are doing now; exploring, testing, inventing.

“But it’s wonderful because it makes you a pioneer, and you really don’t know how far it might be possible to go with this exploration. For example, we can create extrusions very well in aluminium, but it’s very difficult to extrude in brass. Extrusions can be an important part of the aesthetic and this can shape how things will look in the future.

“Materials take us in different directions and we have to learn how to get the very best out of this in the future.”

AS WELL AS NEW PRODUCTS, IDEAL STANDARD’S RECENT POP-UP EXHIBITION – AESTH|ETHICS –EXPLORED A MULTITUDE OF ISSUES AROUND SUSTAINABILITY. HOW IS THIS BEING EMBEDDED INTO THE WAY IN WHICH THE BRAND IS DEVELOPING NEW PRODUCTS?

“Chrome is still the basic finish for bathroom fittings, but because chrome is so polluting, we simply have to reinvent a strategy and a new aesthetic to find a different way. For example, we look at using colours – not just because we like these colours but because the use of chrome could come to be considered unethical in the future. We have to think about how to create a whole new aesthetic, one that could become the new standard for bathroom fittings.

“Design is not a matter of art. We are not just exploring new ways of making things look nice. We are trying to find answers to important questions. My job as a designer is simple; to listen to the question and to come up with a good, workable answer.

“More to the point, it is sometimes about answering very difficult questions. Ideal Standard is asking questions about how it can be more ethical in everything it does, not just purely ticking the ‘green’ box. This isn’t just some kind of superficial sustainability, it goes far beyond that.

“So much of what we see as ‘green’ is, when you scratch the surface, not quite what it seems. That’s why we want to be trusted, and to explain that we are really and genuinely involved in sustainability. We want to be at the point in the future where we will not even have to explain to people what we are doing in terms of sustainability – they will already trust and expect that we have set those very high standards and that they are ingrained in everything that we do.”

WE HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT YOUR WORK AS A DESIGNER THROUGHOUT OUR 23 YEARS OF PUBLICATION, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK BACK THROUGH THE DECADES, SUCH ISSUES OF ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY WERE PRESUMABLY NOT AN ESPECIALLY BIG PART OF YOUR DAY-TO-DAY CREATIVE THINKING?

“Well, firstly, please don’t remind me how old I am – you already gave me a Lifetime Achievement Award for my career work back in 2015 and I’m still here! But seriously, my generation has been the worst when it comes to lifestyle and the way in which we lived our lives. For many, it was seen as absolutely ok to spend money, waste things, throw things away. My generation was destroying the planet like nobody else.

Ideal Standard unveiled its new La Dolce Vita range, the latest addition to its design-led Atelier Collections. Designed by Roberto Palomba, the collection will feature furniture, basins, toilets, bidets and bathtubs, as well as mixer taps, shower products and accessories. The tapered shape of the ceramic vanities and toilets characterise the aesthetic, with flower-shaped vessel basins in square and round designs. The freestanding bathtub is another eye-catching part of the new range, which is scheduled for launch in early 2024.

“So now, there is a sense of guilt and responsibility. We have to be the ones that put a stop to this, and to try to redress things. It is why it is so important for all of us to keep trying, keep inventing, and trying to find another way that helps to correct the mistakes of the past. We absolutely cannot keep making those mistakes.

“The questions we are being asked as designers are different now. If a designer wants to remain effective and relevant today, they need to listen carefully to the questions and be able to adapt and come up with these more difficult answers. In fact, in some respects, they have to come up with the answers even before the question is asked. That’s really the only way to be ready for when the question is posed.

“It’s not easy, but if you do your job seriously, design is a very difficult job. If you only do the part that is, shall we say, more about showing off or being a superstar, it is missing a vital element. Serious design is about delivering answers and it is a very big responsibility. It’s a responsibility on a wider level for the planet, and also on a smaller level for the brand – this is a brand that employs thousands of people and everyone depends on everyone else to come up with these answers and deliver on them. Every time I put my pencil on the paper, I sweat!”

LA DOLCE VITA IS A NEW COLLECTION THAT WILL BE LAUNCHED AT THE START OF 2024 AND, LIKE SOME OF YOUR OTHER WORK FOR IDEAL STANDARD, IT CONVEYS A DESIGN STYLE THAT IS CLASSICAL BUT MODERN. IT HAS A TRADITIONAL TONE BUT WITH A CONTEM- PORARY AND FRESH FORM. SIMPLY PUT... HOW DO YOU DO THIS?

“Loving the past, and not viewing the past as a limit. The past is always a good start. There is no need to try to put your mind on the moon‑‑ and come up with something from space. I come from Europe, and collectively, we have a great history. We don’t have to neglect it or forget it, but at the same time, I am a man who tries to think in the future.

“I suppose I’m like a tree – my roots are in the ground, deeply reaching down to baroque, medieval, the Renaissance, Florence, Rome, Milan, the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, postmodernism – there is so much to appreciate and be inspired by. I am a designer who enjoys culture and who is not scared by the past but is living in the future.”

FIVE YEARS ON FROM TAKING ON THE ROLE AS CHIEF DESIGN OFFICER AT IDEAL STANDARD, HOW DO YOU FEEL THINGS HAVE GONE SO FAR, PARTICULARLY IN TERMS OF THE AMBITIOUS GOALS THAT YOU SET FOR YOURSELF AND THE BRAND WHEN WE SPOKE WITH YOU FOR AN INTERVIEW BACK THEN?

Launching in June 2023, Alu+ is a showering range made from recyclable aluminium and is made up by 84% recycled content. Free from chrome, lead and nickel, it also features water-saving technology built-in to the full range to limit consumption without affecting performance. The range will be available in three low-sheen finishes of silk black, rosé, and silver.

“I didn’t expect to be so far down the road by this stage. The original plan was for things to develop a little more slowly. But in our recent pop-up exhibition, everything in this big space – with just a few exceptions – is less than five years old. In the context of the long heritage of the brand, this represents a revolution.

“The pictures, the products, the people, the strategy – everything is new. This is a big brand. To renovate and develop a brand of this scale is an extremely difficult thing to do. Big companies can have fixed cultures, set in place over many years, and so in the beginning it was not easy at all to convince everyone that such change was needed because, after all, they were already successful. But today it is different, people trust me and are equally enthusiastic about all of our new plans.

“My aim is for this brand to be a real design leader, but not just as ‘nice’ products, but as good, empathetic products that go way beyond simple aesthetic and basic function that really connect with the user.

“There is still a lot to do of course, but this brand is consistently innovating and it is truly fantastic to be a part of it.” idealstandard.co.uk, palombaserafini.com

Launching in September 2023 is a series of showering additions to Ideal Standard’s Solos range. Introduced at Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2022 as a series of basins and fittings, Solos expands to include a shower with simple controls and a colour-changing light integrated in the overhead shower and designed to work with any smart home app such as Philips Hue or Amazon Echo. The range is available in chrome, silk black, and PVD finishes of brushed gold, silver storm and magnetic grey.