11 minute read
Bathrooms
bathrooms TWO ACCOLADES FOR D-NEO BY DURAVIT FROM THE GERMAN DESIGN AWARD
To celebrate we put four questions to designer Bertrand Lejoly
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In March 2021 Duravit first unveiled D-Neo – a complete bathroom range by Belgian designer Bertrand Lejoly – to the public. Its excellent quality and intelligent design combined with an attractive entry-level price, makes Duravit accessible to new target groups. D-Neo has been created to outlast short-lived trends and is the perfect companion for every day, every lifestyle, and every facet of life. The outstanding design has now been recognized twice by the coveted German Design Award.
Bertrand Lejoly answers four questions about this overwhelming success. Having worked as senior designer for Matteo Thun and head of Vincent van Duysen’s design department for many years, he opened his own design studio in 2018.
1. Mr. Lejoly, you are the holder of two certificates from the German
Design Award 2022 for outstanding design - with an award as
“winner” for the D-Neo faucets along with a
“special mention” for the series as a whole.
How does that feel?
The prizes are of course a huge honor for me. The German Design Award is one of our industry’s most important accolades. It’s not just recognition of the work we’ve already done, but even more so it’s an enormous motivation for me for the future.
2. Design prizes are one thing, economic success and sales figures are something else. D-Neo has become an international bestseller within the Duravit range. Did you expect that a year ago?
I have in fact received an overwhelming response to the collection from all sides. That makes me very proud. It’s really important to me to express a huge thank you and pass on my compliments to the Duravit team. Their great passion and drive have enabled the original idea to be realized as a successful series. This experience has really impressed me.
3. What does this success mean for you personally and your young design studio, for instance in terms of your profile?
We’re currently working on exciting new orders in the fields of furniture, outdoor, lighting, and tableware.
The launch and success with the wideranging publicity around D-Neo have really helped draw attention to our design studio. That spurs us on and gives us an even greater impetus for the future. 4. How can we envisage the design process in general terms? What are the key stages from the briefing through to finished series?
What’s important for me is that both sides understand each other from the outset. That the client clearly identifies and communicates what they need and that the designer understands this briefing accordingly so they can interpret it for optimum results. Such collaborations usually last several years with many stages and key decisions, so the chemistry simply must be right.
Duravit AG
Founded in 1817 in Hornberg in the Black Forest, Duravit AG is today a leading international manufacturer of designer
bathrooms. The company is active in more than 130 countries worldwide and stands for innovation in the fields of signature design, comfortenhancing technology and premium quality. In cooperation with an international network of high-profile designers such as Philippe Starck, sieger design, Christian Werner, Cecilie
Manz and young talents such as
Bertrand Lejoly and Kurt Merki Jr., the company develops unique bathrooms that enhance quality of life for users on a sustained basis. Duravit’s product portfolio comprises sanitary ceramics, bathroom furniture, bathtubs and shower trays, wellness systems, showertoilets, tap fittings and accessories as well as installation systems.
Bertrand Lejoly
Bertrand Lejoly (born 1980) grew up in the Eastern part of Belgium, at the junction of the German and French culture. After studying at the École supérieure des arts Saint-Luc in Liège, he gained his first work experience as an industrial designer in Germany. He then went to Milan for seven years to collaborate with Matteo Thun. In 2013 he became Head of Product Design with the Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen. In 2018 Bertrand Lejoly started his own design studio in Antwerp. Since then he has been working with major brands on furniture, lighting, sanitary and tableware products.
www.bertrandlejoly.com / Facebook
@bertrand.lejoly / Instagram @ bertrandlejoly
www.duravit.co.uk
The flooring, walls, toilet, and shower had to be stripped out and replaced, it needed a complete transformation encompassing a new colour palette through to designer drains. The family wanted something that felt luxurious and spa-like but with longevity too. Because it was an older, more traditional-style flat, they originally considered a more classic and nostalgic look, but ultimately, decided on a contemporary solution, prioritising exclusive materials and products that are as appropriate for a luxury hotel as they are for a home.
The finished bathroom has high tech solutions such as a programable shower toilet and an anti-fog mirror, but, the undisputed star of the room is the elegant shower screen, GlassLine by Unidrain. Preserving the natural light from the window was a key part of the renovation so the GlassLine shower screen was ideal. It allowed the light to flow through the room helping to create an open, airy atmosphere.
The GlassLine shower screen with a black frame is 10mm of clear tempered glass, available in three sizes: 800mm - 1000mm and a height of 2104mm, the shower screen can be mounted to the left or right and fits tile thicknesses up to 15mm for wall tiles and 20mm for floor tiles. It is installed discreetly and securely without any visible display of fixings, screws, fittings, or joins.
The screen is lowered into a shower base located under the bathroom flooring, before being attached to the wall, creating a secure, stable, and watertight showering space. The black frame sits against the wall covering any edges generating a smooth finish, and the unseen groovein-the-floor-flange meant that the installation of the colour co-ordinating black line drain was both fast and efficient.
Colour was important for the overall look and style of the bathroom; the base tone was comprised of dark shades to induce a more luxurious feeling and add to the atmosphere, which combined well with the black frame of the GlassLine screen, However, as shown above a transparent version is available as black does not suit all bathrooms.
Enclosed in black powder-coated metal, the interior panel of each quality glass screen is treated with Cleantech nano-treatment, increasing hygiene standards, and ensuring it is extremely easy to clean and maintain a clear finish.
This colour co-ordination continued with accessories from Undrains Reframe collection including a shower shelf with magnetic wiper, towel hooks, toilet brush and toilet roll holder in black, creating perfect continuity.
Within the Sussex Range we have our charity rail the Rye, for every Rye sold we make a donation of 20% of our profits to a charity. At present we are supporting Luckys Legacy Rescue an on the ground charity spaying and rescuing dogs and cats in Romania and now Ukraine as well.
The Rye was inspired by the traditional library ladder, it has been designed to offer a gentle and elegant twist on the classic, leaning casually and lightly against the wall taking bathroom elegance and comfort to a new level.
With larger than normal bar spacing comes the added advantage of further practicability should you favour more than one bath sheet or within a larger family bathroom. In fact this rail very much marries practicability with the more minimalistic styling favoured within design today, a thoroughly modern classic.
The Rye range of towel rails is available in three different heating formats: these being electric only, •14•
dual fuel and the ability to be utilized solely within the central heating system. The rails, as always, are suitable for open plumbing systems.
Measuring 1800mm x 520mm – tapering to 300mm at the top, the JIS element is constructed from 100% stainless steel, with a built in thermostat to prevent the rail from becoming too hot and, of course, to reduce running costs. With a BTU rating of 1878, the rail consumes just 550 Watts; while each one is manufactured with standard 1/2” BSP tappings and is pressure tested to 12 Bar. Offering a choice of either satin or a highly polished steel surface, all Rye towel rails are hand finished by the company’s craftsmen to ensure the highest quality is maintained; so it is no surprise that JIS is confident enough to offer its usual no-quibble 25 year guarantee. The Rye has also been added to the Black edition range and is now also available in a matt black powder coated finish as well.
All of the towel rails within the Sussex Range are entirely fabricated from 304 grade stainless steel, of which over 90% is from recycled source and the rail itself is 100% recyclable at the end of its life. There are no environmentally harmful chemical plating processes in the manufacture of stainless steel, the very fact that is is not plated ensures the rails will not rust, flake or corrode and small marks can simply be polished out. This makes them a durable, as well as an attractive, environmentally-friendly choice. The Sussex Range’s latest towel rails have a recommended retail price of just £449.50 + VAT. Please visit www.sussexrange.co.uk for further information or contact our friendly staff on 01444 831200
industry news How is SterlingOSB Zero made?
SterlingOSB Zero is one of the most popular panel products used by the UK construction industry; developers, builders, and self-builders alike. It’s the go-to panel for a multitude of roles today - from the basic functional to the trendy aesthetic feature wall - but how is it made and what goes into it?
Panels are then cut to size and quality checks carried out before the packs are taken to the warehouse for shipping.
The whole process can be followed on an informative video on West Fraser’s You Tube channel and on a downloadable information sheet from the Documents and downloads section of the West Fraser website.
West Fraser’s OSB portfolio comprises of SterlingOSB Zero OSB3 and SterlingOSB Zero Tongue and Groove. They are variants of the precision-engineered OSB3 board; BBA-approved and designed for humid conditions, the board contains zero added formaldehyde (ZAF) and is unique in the market by being the only ZAF OSB manufactured in the UK. Produced in Scotland from forest thinnings taken from sustainably managed forests, the board is certified according to the guidelines of the FSC or PEFC. All West Fraser panel products produced in the UK are net carbon negative and manufactured in mills that have obtained the coveted environmental ISO 14001 accreditation.
To find out more about West Fraser’s products for housebuilders, get in touch with Dan Clarke
With the growing need to fully understand the impact of building materials on the environment, specifiers, architects and builders can now follow the creation of SterlingOSB Zero panels from the delivery of timber at West Fraser’s state-of-the-art plant in Inverness right through the continuous line production process. West Fraser’s commitment to producing a sustainable product for the construction industry can be seen from sourcing locally grown timber, thereby cutting embodied carbon from transportation while supporting the local forestry industry, through to the self-sufficiency of the plant where otherwise wasted product is burned on site producing the energy to manufacture the boards.
Logs delivered to Inverness are stripped of bark before being fed into a high-speed ring of blades which produces the flakes for the OSB. The flakes are dried, separated and resins added. Sterling OSB Zero is the first OSB product to be made in the UK with zero added formaldehyde, ensuring an even ‘greener’ board that meets all standards with ease.
The forming line prior to entering the press
The flakes are then layered in specific orientation to give the boards their strong structural properties. The formed flakes go through a high-pressure and high-temperature press to produce the board.
Once cut, the boards are loaded on to the “star cooler” to release the heat from the panel
– email Daniel.Clarke@westfraser.com or download product brochures from the housebuilder page of the West Fraser website uk.westfraser.com/housebuilders/
For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit uk.westfraser.com
1. Wood Yard Storage
Timber logs collated.
1300 tonnes/day green timber (already de-branched and cut to size).
2. Debarker
Strips bark from green timber.
Bark is used as fuel for dryer and press heat, or horticultural.
5. Cyclones
Separates steam and strands.
Gases are recirculated for energy recovery before controlled emission.
4. Rotary Drum Dryer
Reduces the moisture content to <4%.
Burners are fueled with 100% Biomass and production process residue.
3. Ring Strander
Shreds the wood chips into strands.
48 knives rotating at 400rpm are accurate to 0.8mm.
6. Screening
Separates material by size.
Strands are separated for use in the core and surface layers.
7. Blenders
Coat the strands with a mix of wax and resins.
The core and surface strands are prepared separately for the forming line.
8. Forming Line
Arranges 3 layers at 90° to each other.
The cross oriented strands give the board its name and strength.
11. Online Quality Control
Checks, marks and trims the board.
All approved panels are dated and certification stamped.
12. Star Cooler
Allows the panels to cool.
Panels must be fully cooled before finishing.
10. Continuous Press System
Heats and compresses the strands together.
Accurate, constant pressure and temperature produces high quality board efficiently.
9. Metal Detector
Removes any ferrous material.
The mat is rejected if non-ferrous material is detected.
14. Warehousing
13. Finishing Lines
