As a contrast to the hectic outside world, consumers are looking for valuable me-time to relax body, mind, and soul. At home, the bathroom is often a vital place for finding a moment of peace.
Providing the right products to meet customers’ high demands and helping them to create their own personal retreats is key, with awareness around wellness and health at an all-time high. In response to the growing health and wellness trend, GROHE, a leading global brand for complete bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings, is extending its premium product portfolio with the reinvented GROHE Allure line and the new GROHE Rainshower Aqua Body sprays for an enhanced shower experience. No matter if you are designing a spa landscape for a resort or a private bathroom, GROHE offers the freedom to tailor the space to your customers' needs.
Progressive designs and carefully chosen materials, finishes, and colours, combined with high-end technology, will stand out in any bathroom project.
"These exclusive new products are especially dedicated to architects and designers who want to transform their clients' bathrooms into a holistic wellness oasis at home that becomes a perfect hideaway to recharge body, mind, and soul. GROHE Allure is defined by a progressive design that allows full design coordination, creating unique bathroom experiences. These memorable, unique spaces will stand out in any project. In addition, a palette of carefully curated colours and finishes enables architects and designers to add a personal touch," says Patrick Speck, Leader, LIXIL Global Design, EMENA.
The popular GROHE Allure tap line has been updated. The design statement captivates with its minimalist and extraordinarily slim design – now even more appealing due to its refined aesthetic. By combining state-of-the-art water technology with German craftsmanship, the tap offers a distinctive highlight. Thanks to distinct haptic feedback, the precision control of the three-hole basin mixer offers a unique tactile experience and improves interaction.
The new GROHE Allure offers designers and architects the opportunity to create a perfectly harmonious bathroom experience according to their customers’ personal tastes. The versatile range also encompasses floor-mounted taps and waterfall spouts for the bathtub, which allow for a holistic, coordinated design. For tasteful accents in the bathroom, the Allure line offers a choice of different colours and finishes: Chrome, Brushed Cool Sunrise, Brushed Warm Sunset, and Hard Graphite – all perfectly coordinated with GROHE Allure Accessories.
With the Rainshower Aqua Body sprays GROHE launches a showering highlight which upgrades the daily routine with a pulsating water massage. Control is intuitive via a pop-up design: when the water is activated, the body sprays pop out of the cover plate, allowing users to switch between the Rain and Active Jet spray easily by simply turning them. When the water is turned off, the body sprays pull back and blend into the shower surround completely, resulting in a slim, minimalist design for optimised space in the shower.
Full freedom of choice is guaranteed with round and square designs, available in different GROHE Colours to match any bathroom style. Additionally, the new body sprays enable eco-conscious water usage thanks to water-saving GROHE EcoJoy technology. GROHE Rainshower Aqua Body sprays make it easy to successfully combine responsible consumption with a luxurious showering experience.
About GROHE
GROHE is a leading global brand for complete bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings. In order to offer "Pure Freude an Wasser", every GROHE product is based on the brand values of quality, technology, design and sustainability. Focused on customer needs, GROHE thus creates intelligent, life-enhancing and sustainable product solutions that offer relevant added value – and bear the "Made in Germany" seal of quality: R&D and design are firmly anchored as an integrated process in Germany. GROHE takes its corporate responsibility very seriously and focuses on a resource-saving value chain. Since April 2020, the sanitary brand has been producing CO2-neutral* worldwide. GROHE has also set itself the goal of using plastic-free product packaging by 2021.
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The SBID continues to champion the most skilled and talented designers from around the world in the 2022 edition of the SBID International Design Awards.
Taking place on Friday 21 October at a new luxury venue, InterContinental London Park Lane, the 13th annual ceremony will celebrate and showcase excellence across Interior Design, Fit Out and Product Design to its impressive international audience.
With award categories spanning both the commercial and residential sectors, SBID welcomes entries from all corners of the professional design community, who work together to drive industry standards and produce the exceptional interior environments that shape the way we live, work and play
Equipped with an assembly of expert judges, the judging panel features a host of revered industry figures from some of the most exciting companies at the forefront of design, media and business. With Global Digital Director of Architectural Digest, David Kaufman; Executive Editor for ELLE DÉCOR (US), Ingrid Abramovitch; Dean and Professor of Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Sarah Whiting; and CEO of Rigby & Rigby, Iain Johnson (to name a few), entrants have a unique opportunity to showcase their work on the SBID Awards’ global stage and exhibit designs directly to an audience of distinguished professional peers, press and potential clients.
The entries to the SBID Awards 2022 is now open with reduced Early Bird rate of £250*. SBID invites designers to take advantage of the discounted entry fees and submit your entry before 14 March 2022.
Entries will close at 5pm (BST) on 23 May 2022. Click here to find out more.
*excluding VAT and one-off admin fee.
SBID members receive exclusive benefits into the SBID International Design Awards, including 1 x free entry and discounted entry fees. Find out more
Click here to discover the last year's SBID Awards winners!
To enter, visit sbidawards.com for more information.
This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features a standout kitchen design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Roundhouse.
SBID Awards Category: Kitchen Product
Practice: Roundhouse
Project: Bottomhouse Farm
This standout kitchen offers a serious amount of space with doors to the back terrace and a woodburner for winter comfort. Complete with an island that features polished concrete worktops, an underside in patinated corrugated iron and splashback in Lilac Milas marble, the textures used are purposefully varied and wonderfully original. With reused and recycled elements from the original barn, this is a space designed to be seen and used for all occasions.
The SBID International Design Awards programme serves to recognise, reward and celebrate design excellence across a broad range of categories spanning Interior Design, Product Design and Fit-Out. Click here to find out more.
Kohler, leading global brand, features eight additions to its smart home portfolio at CES 2022, focusing on enhancing wellbeing and making it easier for people to find peace of mind.
PerfectFill smart bathing technology is a smart drain, digital/app controller and bath filler. PerfectFill draws a bath to a preferred temperature and desired depth with a simple voice command or through the KOHLER Konnect app, reducing time spent monitoring the bath as it fills. Previously demonstrated as concept technology, PerfectFill will be available for purchase in May 2022.
Anthem Valves and Controls – digital valves can operate multiple outlets, integrate into the KOHLER Konnect app, can be paired with voice assistants, and offer the unique functionality of independent temperature and flow control in each outlet. Paired with the immersive sprays of the Statement showerheads, hand showers, rain heads and body sprays, Anthem upgrades the shower through innovative technology and engineering.
Purist Suspend – ceiling-mounted kitchen faucet featuring a remote puck that manages activation, temperature and volume, and a fully adjustable hose with 180-degree rotation.
Touchless Residential Bathroom Faucet – New category for Kohler, these faucets function with a simple wave of the hand, offer temperature control and operate by battery, offering an easy tech upgrade.
Kohler Power Reserve – a modular home energy storage system that pairs with solar power systems to provide homeowners with access to solar energy regardless of the weather, time of day or status of the grid.
Robern IQ Digital Lock Box – a smart lock box that offers a compact way to securely protect valuables, medication and personal items. Digital Lock Box is equipped with a touchpad panel as well as an app to set and protect your password and ensure that your items are secured.
Additional featured products coming to market in 2022 include Stillness Bath, a multi-sensory bathing experience inspired by Japanese forest bathing, and H2Wise powered by Phyn, smart water monitors designed to detect leaks and track household water usage.
About Kohler
Founded in 1873, Kohler Co. is a global leader in the design, innovation and manufacture of kitchen and bath products; luxury cabinetry, tile and lighting; engines, generators, and clean energy solutions; and owner/operator of two, five-star hospitality and golf resort destinations in Kohler, Wisconsin, and St. Andrews, Scotland.
Concrete LCDA introduce a new Panbeton collection of surface panels, consisting of five new designs, two of which were made in collaboration with Neri & Hu and Jean-Philippe Nuel.
The Chinese character 亘 “gèn” is composed of two lines at the top and bottom, with the character for “sun” nestled in between. The horizontal strokes, one representing the heavens above and the other representing the earth below, allude to the infinite extension of the horizon, embodying the notion of a spatial and temporal continuity. The design for the panel is composed by a series of well-proportioned raised lines that could appear to extend infinitely across a surface, drawing a direct connection between landscape and dwelling, ground and sky.
Studio Jean-Philippe Nuel has created a new model of ultra-lightweight, high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete panels for Concrete LCDA, called “Graphite”.
Continuing along the same lines as the Chevrons and Timber panels – the one derived from the imprint of Haussmann wood flooring, and the other influenced by wooden formwork slats – Graphite retains a woody touch, as it draws its inspiration from the graphic designs created by different species of wood as they burn. Because depending on whether you burn Douglas fir, Accoya, oak or pine, the surface of the wood will take on a cracked, flaky texture, long grooves or smooth, tight curves.
In architecture, charred wood is traditionally used in exterior cladding, as it provides natural protection to the wood. This Japanese technique is known as “shou sugi ban”. It involves charring the surface of a board, deep down, until a superficial layer of charcoal forms, which will protect the material from the effects of weather.
“The Graphite panels do more than just use charred wood: they feature a graphic composition which plays with the textures of the different finishes, almost like inlays. This way, the panels take a contemporary, creative approach to reinterpreting a secular tradition.”
The result of this assembly is a concrete panel with a flowing geometric design which can be extended length-wise and height-wise like wallpaper. This cladding will add character and a strong identity to any room it adorns.
The Brutalism Collection is adding three new models by Studio LCDA: Panbeton® Striation, Lines and Rugged.
As a new tribute to the Brutalist architectural style, this collection refers to the concrete used in buildings, to the raw material which reveals the traces and texture inherent to its installation.
Studio LCDA utilizes a language based on simple geometric shapes, repetitive modules and linear forms. “We wanted to let the concrete express its fundamental nature and its streamlined and pulled-out variations, making it possible to fully appreciate its minerality and its imperfections.”
About Concrete LCDA
Revitalised by three young entrepreneurs with complementary skills, LCDA (set up in 2003) became Concrete LCDA in 2011. The company is now the leader in Europe in the contemporary furniture and fibre-reinforced concrete interior fittings sector.
This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features a luxurious piano design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Edelweiss Pianos.
SBID Awards Category: Interior Technology
Practice: Edelweiss Pianos
Project: The SOLIS
The SOLIS was hand-built in the UK by Cambridge based piano makers Edelweiss. The SOLIS is the one of a kind design from the ‘Goldfinch’ designer range of self-play pianos. Exclusively created for a California residence this majestic piano symbolises the setting sun across the Nevada desert.
A semi-circular piano has a butterfly lid that is unique to Edelweiss Pianos. The SOLIS seamlessly holds a self-play system and is highly specified with a carbon fibre composite mechanism, a perma-formed soundboard, and a custom produced keyboard with sustainably sourced exotic wood sharps.
This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features a hardware collection design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Croft.
SBID Awards Category: Interior Fittings
Practice: Croft
Project: The Mineral Collection
The Mineral Collection by Croft is a one-of-a-kind, limited edition range for those looking to seamlessly transform and add character to any space. As its name suggests, the overall design concept of the collection is based on natural occurring minerals. The Mineral collections look of purity and intrigue suggests it is a naturally formed product, celebrating the relationship between nature and craftsmanship.
Meticulously hand-crafted using a pattern bonding process, the collection is comprised of Croft’s Elegance door handle with a covered rose, bathroom turn, cabinet knob and handle and an appliance pull. Available in a matt or gloss finish and two striking colours, Tiger's Eye and Jade, each product has its own individual, colour-bearing veins giving a uniqueness to every item. A step away from their usual product range, the Mineral Collection was created by Croft, a British manufacturer based in the heart of England.
In this week's interview with 2021 SBID Awards winner for the Bathroom & Sanitaryware Product category, RAK Ceramics, the designer Patrick Norguet talks about the industry trends' influence on the designing process and shares his predictions on the future bathroom design direction.
SBID Awards Category: Bathroom & Sanitaryware
Practice: RAK Ceramics
Entry: RAK Valet
It is always important to measure the reaction to a product or a collection and the industry recognition that the Award demonstrates is an important indicator of the likely success of the product once it is available commercially. For me as a designer, it is always pleasant to receive congratulations for my work and that of my team.
As with any first collaboration I spent a lot of time trying to understand a brand, its origin, its strategy, its culture, and its production capacity. RAK- Valet is the result of this research. Beyond the design, the success of a product is also about timing. RAK-Valet brings together all the elements, thus making the collection a sweet blend of elegance and modernity.
The word trend is contradictory to a designer’s work. My job is to understand the evolution that is needed related to a particular company or industrial sector. RAK Ceramics came to me as they were looking to increase the perceived value of their products, with a unique collection that has an international cultural approach. I think we succeeded in this challenge with our first collaboration.
To answer your question, which is often asked of me, my inspiration comes from my work. As a designer as well as an industrialist, I like to offer products that make sense, because there are too many objects already surrounding us. My inspiration therefore comes from a conscious and unconscious set of things that nourish my creativity according to what is needed.
It is an interesting subject because the bathroom for several years has become much more of a living space and a room in its entirety.
The notion of comfort and well-being is at the heart of the needs of our Western society. Tomorrow may be different. The density of the population has an impact on us and our living spaces, so it is therefore also necessary to think and design spaces that are more compact, but that offer quality. Bathroom design also needs to address societal challenges, like the consumption of energy and water, maintaining comfort while bringing meaning to our actions.
It would be terrible for me to settle for one award alone. To design and offer products correctly, it is important for an industrialist to establish a collaboration that lasts over time. I hope that this first collection designed for RAK Ceramics will lead to a continued relationship and to win another SBID Award in the future. In the meantime, I am focused on many projects ahead of the Milan show in April 2022.
My advice would be that it is a difficult job, which requires a lot of work and skill, but it is also a job that offers a lot of freedom. So never give up and work hard.
Questions answered by Patrick Norguet, RAK-VALET Collection Designer, RAK Ceramics.
RAK Ceramics is one of the largest ceramics’ brands in the world. Specialising in ceramic and gres porcelain wall and floor tiles and sanitaryware we produce 123 million square meters of tilesand5 million pieces of sanitaryware per year at our 22 state-of-the-art plants across the United Arab Emirates, India and Bangladesh.
If you missed last week's Interview with the category Residential Apartment Over £1M winner IAIA - Idea Art Interior Architects, click here to read it.
This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features a morphable furniture design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Thomas Abraham For IDeA Design House.
SBID Awards Category: Furniture - Residential
Practice: Thomas Abraham For IDeA Design House
Project: The Optimus
The Optimus by Thomas Abraham is a morphable furniture piece that transforms in size, shape and purpose. Because it can be multi-used and multi-purposed, it limits the number of furniture in the room thereby providing free space.
It is made of sheesham wood from renewable plantations that are environmentally friendly with low carbon footprints. It is in every way an ‘Environment first’ Architectural Design, prioritizing sustainability, durability, recycling and reusing material, waste management, reduction of carbon footprint and economically affordable design. It also focuses on the efficient use of resources and follows a zero-waste policy. Everything used was handmade, thus providing much needed employment to local population as well as preserving the skillsets of craftsmen in the neighbourhood.
This is design as cosmopolitan as it gets, a glocal (global + local) sensibility with diversity and universal value – furniture that would fit in every home, in any culture
Sans Souci, Czech designer and creator of glass lighting and architectural installations, introduces lighting installation in the centre of Burj Al Arab’s new lobby in Dubai. The stunning chandelier was adapted from Sans Souci’s signature Symphony collection and is comprised of 210 crystal tubes, weighing around 450 kilograms.
The installation seamlessly integrates heritage craftsmanship with the latest nano-technologies. Using cutting-edge techniques, each glass tube was coated in gold and engraved with a unique leaf motif taken from the luxury hotel’s wallpaper.
Designed by KCA International for Jumeirah Group, the newly renovated Exit Lobby features the magnificent spiral chandelier as the bespoke centrepiece for the interior. The installation’s design plays with light to create a glowing piece of art in the heart of the new space.
“Burj Al Arab is a globally recognised symbol of Dubai and luxury so we were delighted to work on this project” commented Elie El Khoury, Managing Director of Sans Souci Middle East. “We wanted to create a unique installation for the new interior that embodies the opulence of this iconic hotel.”
Jiří Krišica Head of Design at Sans Souci, added “The core design for this piece is taken from our Symphony collection and we then worked with the design team to create a truly unique chandelier that highlights the stunning interiors of the hotel. The final effect is an installation that plays with light and shade, creating a beautiful focus for the space.”
Burj Al Arab’s new Exit Lobby opened in October 2021. This installation adds to the list of Sans Souci’s projects in the Middle East which includes the W Hotel The Palm, Waterfront Market, Central Park Towers in Dubai or Al Rayyan Hotel in Doha.
About Sans Souci Lighting
Sans Souci Lighting is a bohemian designer and producer of decorative lighting fixtures, glass objects and architectural features. Shaped by impeccable design and desire for modernity, they value, above all, innovation and technology. Never afraid to challenge the rules, they strive to be the leader in the field of lighting originals and a luxury brand for those seeking beauty and inspiration.
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