GERMAN bathroom manufacturer Duravit has introduced a range of new products, improving on old models and establishing new concepts. The innovations will be showcased at the ISH trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, this month (March 15 to 19). The unveiling took place in Germany’s Black Forest region before the international press.

“We’ve never had such an armada of new bathroom concepts,” says Franz Kook, management board chairman. “We’ve done some quite far-reaching research and, in collaboration with high-profile international designers, developed concepts that introduce a new style direction, and not just for the luxury sector.”

Kook says the new creations are a “poetic analysis of the beauty of economy”. He adds that Duravit’s approach was to promote competition and attractive designs to suit as many buyers as possible across the globe. Each of the new creations bestowed “a special magic”.

A key company facility is the new Duravit Design Centre in Hornberg. The trapeze-shaped building has an iconic Philippe Starck-designed giant toilet as an observation platform. The centre includes six in-house test bathrooms and is described as a magnet for all sanitary ware dealers, architects and planners where they receive advice and solutions for bathroom designs and spa concepts.

The new Darling style ... rich in design.

Some of the new models include Darling, Esplanade, Nahho, Onto, OpenSpace, Paiova Monolith, SensoWash and St Trop.

Darling: The Darling bathroom range, created by Duravit in collaboration with designer Dieter Sieger, was unveiled in 1994. Duravit has now returned its attention to the range together with Dieter’s sons, Michael and Christian, developing it into a complete programme. From the washbasin through the shower-toilet seat to the whirl tub, the new programme upholds the idea of “plenty of design for little money”.

The new visual leitmotif of “Darling New” is the exquisite rim, which features on the ceramic items, furniture and bathtubs alike. The harmonious circular form, which was a distinguishing characteristic of the first Darling range, has also been retained. The washbasin thus remains a circle within a circle. In all, 25 different ceramic models are available. The choice ranges from a small handwash basin to a wall-mounted WC and wall-mounted bidet, which are designed as units in a closed design without any attachment niches at the sides. The wall-mounted WC with a projection of 62 cm can be fitted with the “SensoWash” shower-toilet seat.

Esplanade: German-Russian architect Sergei Tchoban’s new series consists of ceramic, furniture and a complete range of bathtubs and is named Esplanade after the grand streets in France. The designer harks back to the 18th and 19th centuries when bathroom furnishings and even toilets were still regarded as furniture.

The series features generous dimensions and soft forms. The characteristic pedestal is also featured in other elements from the range and is particularly striking on the floor-mounted toilet, which is reminiscent of an antique chair.

Nahho: The Nahho flotation tub is the latest design of the Vienna-based Eoos design group, which draws on archaic models to create new designs. “This new product follows the Eoos tradition whereby wellness always involves a special gesture,” says a Duravit spokesman.

This time, the gesture involves opening a flap to immerse oneself in a whole new bathing experience – floating. The user is able to enjoy the feeling of weightlessness as he or she drifts into a state of total relaxation. The name Nahho is intended to encapsulate this experience – the word derives from the old high-German for dug-out canoe.

The sound module uses Bluetooth to establish a connection with a sound source.

OpenSpace: Following its successful work in the area of bathing and floating, the Eoos design group has now applied its expertise to showers for the first time on behalf of Duravit. Seeking at the same time to relieve the strain on the space available in the bathroom, it has designed OpenSpace – a shower partition that can be folded away after use, transforming it into a discreet wall panel, which tidily conceals tap fittings, shower attachments, shower gels and shampoos.

Paiova Monolith: This bathtub with its distinctive trapezoidal shape has evolved into a full-blown success story since its launch in 2004. The idea, also from Eoos, centres on the bathers relaxing alongside one another, rather than facing one another. Advanced acrylic technology has enabled Duravit to cut the signature trapezoidal form of this model out of a rectangular monobloc. Instead of a bathtub with panelling and rim, the Paiova Monolith is provided with an apron leading all the way down to the floor, resulting in a seamless piece of mono-materiality.

Onto: The new Onto bathroom series by Matteo Thun reinterprets the washing area. The ceramic is no longer placed on the console in the traditional way but, instead, the washbasin, either rectangular or round, becomes the support for the console, which features a gentle downward sweep at the front and clads the basin in a smooth curve. This creates a new, dynamic character that also ensures quick and easy assembly. thereby reducing installation costs. Thun believes that cost engineering defines the aesthetics of the 21st century and is considered a champion of the beauty of economy. Wood is the most important and popular feature of the range.

SensoWash: The culture of the “shower toilet” has been standard in the Asian world for many years. Duravit and top French designer Philippe Starck have now taken up this idea and have collaborated on the “SensoWash Starck” shower-toilet seat that features outstanding design and showering comfort in equal measure, according to the spokesman.

The shower-toilet seat boasts an unusually flat and slimline design that curves gently up into the wall and finishes in an elegant silver-coloured panel. The technical components have been miniaturised so the entire technology fits between the ceramic body and the seat. It’s only when the toilet is open that the bidet feature is revealed: a stainless steel spray arm. There are three different types of shower to choose from: the Rearwash, the Comfortwash and the Ladywash, offering particularly gentle cleansing.

St Trop: This new Starck-designed steam shower features a sleek, square body that takes up no more than 1 sq m of floor space. The door is akin to a frame adorning a large-scale painting. The white background forms the canvas, with the person taking a shower becoming the motif. Continuing the artistic theme, the stool made of heat-resistant material is a sculpture in its own right. At the touch of a button, the temperature rises to between 42 and 50 deg C, at a humidity of 100 per cent. The pleasures of the steam bath are preset to last 20 minutes.

Other products
Also unveiled were new universal bath covers and the Starck bathroom furniture.

Duravit doubled sales between 2003 and 2008 but recorded a decline following the global economic crisis. Group sales fell 12.6 per cent, recording €292.7 million ($400.2 million) in 2009. The company, however, made substantial investments, opening a new factory in India and showrooms in Egypt and Tunisia while extending the warehouse in Achern, Germany, to include a new high-bay warehouse. Founded in 1817, the company is present in more than 90 countries and operates with 27 affiliated firms.