DURAVIT, a leading German supplier of bathroom ceramic, furniture, accessories, and wellness ideas, managed to scoop no less than 14 prestigious design awards last year for its bathroom designs.

In addition to the new ranges, DuraStyle and Happy D 2, the SensoWash shower-toilet and Inipi B compact sauna, the St Trop steam shower and the OpenSpace shower enclosure were all prize winners.

“In fact OpenSpace, the innovative space-saving solution by Eoos, can now boast 10 awards in all, including the iF Award in Gold (2013) and the red dot ‘Best of the Best’ (2012),” says a spokesman for Duravit.

The Kiora Z kitchen sink has also been commended. In addition to these awards, the manufacturer and outfitter of designer bathrooms once again received the Universal Design Award and the German Design Award.

The German Design Council’s Iconic Award was presented for the first time in 2013. This international award focuses on outstanding, holistic architecture and interior design, the spokesman points out.

The jury of renowned experts in architecture, interior design, design and brand communication was impressed by the design concept behind the DuraStyle complete bathroom range and awarded it the highest honour, the ‘Best of Best’, he says. Happy D 2 by sieger design also scored points with the jury and was presented an Iconic Award  of its own.

Happy D 2 is a completely new version of the successful Happy D series, which has been firmly established in bathroom design for 15 years.

“The Happy D series drew its inspiration not from any specific predecessor, but rather from individual stylistic elements that have been shaping our vision of sophisticated bathrooms for decades,” says a spokesman for sieger design. “For example, the opulent dimensions and radii, or the characteristic rim design, are forms familiar to consumers. For Happy D, we took these features and transformed them into a new design with a flat outline, straight lines and symmetrical curves. This makes the series timeless, durable and consequently sustainable. During development, we place particular emphasis on the history and personality of a product, its typical character.”

The Kiora Z kitchen sink ... commended.

With Happy D 2, sieger design has sought to reflect the changes in taste that come with time. “As designers, we observe society, its changes and its needs perhaps more carefully than any other professional group. We see ourselves as sensors for seismic shifts in attitude, perceiving new tendencies before they have taken shape. Our impressions and analyses determine the strategy and special lines of a product. And they show that even classics need innovation. Happy D 2 represents the new lightness. We gave the bestseller a facelift whilst retaining its basic traits: contemporary refinement, in every sense of the word because, thanks to the ornate lines, Happy D 2 appears much lighter and fresher than its 1998 predecessor. It also features some technical innovations. This formed new strengths,” he says.

Duravit products reflect the company’s ethos in designing bathrooms, says the Duravit spokesman. “The way in which we furnish our bathroom expresses our concept of life. We only discover the lasting value of a bathroom when we are still able to enjoy the design we chose many years earlier. The forward-looking interaction between useful design and intelligent technology is what ensures lasting enjoyment,” he concludes.