KITCHEN spaces continue to evolve in terms of functionality and today’s homeowner demands products that are modelled to the various activities in the area. In response to these demands, Dornbracht has launched two new products, the bar tap and Tara Ultra pot filler, as well as water units which effectively separate the kitchen into three water zones: preparation and cleaning, drinking and cooking.
These products were unveiled by the German kitchens and bathrooms fixtures and accessories specialist at ISH, a leading trade fair on the bathroom experience, building, energy, air-conditioning technology and renewable energies, held last March in Frankfurt, Germany.
With these innovations, Dornbracht is now giving kitchen planners, architects and end customers the opportunity to select high-quality perfectly-adapted complete packages of water sets and water units especially for the kitchen. The water units comprise various single and double units, developed in close co-operation with a Canadian premium manufacturer, specifically for combining with Dornbracht water sets for the kitchen.
“Water units and water sets form a homogenous functional unit, optimally adapted to a specific wet working area,” says Andreas Dornbracht, director of Dornbracht. “Dornbracht is thus consistently continuing the water sets and wet workplace concept introduced two years ago as kitchen zones – the separation of functional areas in the private kitchen in the same way as in the professional kitchen.”
The bar tap is the new water set, which in combination with the new water unit, forms the drinking water zone. Both the water set and the water unit are kept deliberately small and are less reminiscent of a sink unit and more of an elegant water dispenser of the type found in hotels or spas, according to a spokesman for Dornbracht.
In fact, these drinking water zones are now extending to other areas of the home.
The spokesman elaborates: “In the US, a source of drinking water has been part of the traditional equipment for almost every kitchen. However, in an increasing number of high-class apartments and houses today, there are more ‘bars’ spread throughout the entire living area, at which people can fill a glass with water or prepare a drink. Naturally, the design of the water set and water unit must suit the living area. This applies precisely to our new bar tap.”
The bar tap of Dornbracht’s Tara Ultra and Lot series can be configured individually with the various water units. In addition to the private bar and refreshment area, the drinking water zone is also suitable as a water source for a coffee bar.
Meanwhile, the Tara Ultra pot filler has been designed for the cooking water zone. Like the entire series, it is characterised by clearly defined forms and a deliberately slim design. “The particularly high outlet provides lots of space for working with large pots and other containers. In addition to the stove top, the Tara Ultra pot filler can also fitted with an additional water unit,” the spokesman says.
The Tara Ultra pot filler and the bar tap are available in chrome and matt platinum surfaces.

Water units
For kitchens whose layout does not allow a complete separation of working processes, the universal area, with a multifunctional deep water unit, and a shallow water unit, combines all the advantages of the water zone. For the new cooking and drinking zones, fixtures have been developed whose functions are precisely adapted to the requirements of these zones.
For each of these water zones, different configurations are recommended, which meet the desire for functionality paired with individuality in the kitchen. So for the preparation area, a deep and a shallow water unit can be selected so that food can be optimally cleaned. Large shallow individual units are provided for cooking, so pots can be filled comfortably or water easily drained from pasta, for example. The cleaning area is offered with two large water units. The shallow individual units are recommended for drinking. And for cooking in a limited space, universal combines all the advantages of the water units in a space-saving variant.
All water units are basins handmade from stainless steel, whose specific design is adapted to the requirements of the various functional areas in the kitchen.
The 20 individual and eight double water units, which were designed as base and inset basins to fit flush with adjacent areas, open up the functional area of the kitchen in a totally new way, thanks to their solid materiality and simple elegance.
Aloys F Dornbracht, based in Iserlohn, Germany, is an internationally-active manufacturer of high-quality design fixtures and accessories for the bathroom and kitchen and has won a number of international design prizes.