GROHE, a premier bathroom faucet specialist, has won six design awards – five for products and one for a concept – from the iF International Forum Design for 2012.

Apart from two faucets and three showers singled out for the coveted “iF product design award”, Grohe also won the iF communication design award for its exhibit at ISH 2011, the world’s leading trade fair for the bathroom experience, building, energy, air-conditioning technology and renewable energies, which was held in Frankfurt, Germany, earlier this year.

“As we continue to maximise the potential of our products and our brand, we create new design universes and shape new trends,” says Paul Flowers, senior vice-president, design, at Grohe. “We are delighted to see our innovations and our high standards in terms of quality and functionality being recognised and rewarded. For us, winning an iF award is always an honour and an inspiration at the same time.”

For the past 50 years, the iF product design award has been one of the world’s leading  awards and a widely recognised accolade for excellence in industrial design.

Grohe has regularly featured among the award winners. This year, too, the faucet specialist convinced the jurors with a unique combination of form and function. Its Eurodisc Cosmopolitan line of faucets and fittings, for example, is appreciated for its balanced proportions and its aesthetic lever, which is in the form of a tapered lozenge. The Power & Soul line of showers delivers a holistic shower experience. Its distinguishing features include Grohe AquaDirect, an all-new spray pattern selector which sits on the back of the shower head and provides a choice of different spray patterns simply by pushing a button.

Tempesta New shower.

In contrast, Grohe Tempesta New is a tried-and-tested product whose design and functionality have been further refined. From organic to geometric or playful, this line offers just the right shower for any bathroom environment, says Flowers. In addition, it is available with up to four spray patterns which can be controlled via the SpraySwitch on the shower head.

Allure Brilliant, a visual highlight for any bathroom, is a line of fittings distinguished by its many different facets, unusual angles and striking accents. Perfectly cut like a diamond, it exudes elegance and excitement, he says.

Another award-winning innovation is the Sena Freehander. Both its minimalist design based on cylindrical shapes as well as its well thought-out functionality using sophisticated and highly precise hinge mechanisms have evolved from the company’s proven Freehander shower system.

“Making exceptional products is only one side of the coin, presenting an overall brand to the public is the other. Grohe is a past master at both,” Flowers comments. “Its Urban Village exhibit at ISH 2011 show attracted the iF communication design award. In tune with the leitmotiv ‘Enjoy Water’, the booth celebrated well-being, value and water, underpinned by the four pillars of the Grohe brand, namely quality, technology, design and sustainability.”

Visitors were introduced to no fewer than 350 new Grohe products for spas, bathrooms, showers, kitchens and sanitary systems by way of five themed ‘universes’ created through large-scale multimedia projections. The jury was impressed with the architecture and the atmosphere of the stand and the effective presentation of the brand.

Subsequent to the official handover of the awards at the iF design awards night at the BMW Welt centre in Munich, Germany, on February 10, 2012, the award-winning products and concepts will feature in the inaugural iF design exhibition, which will be hosted at Hamburg’s HafenCity for several months.