Dipping in innovations
Featuring impeccable designs, detailed fittings, and concepts always one step ahead— Dornbracht has always been a visionary in its field
Before it was globally known as a manufacturer of premium high-quality fittings and fixtures for bathrooms and kitchens, Dornbracht was just a two-man team in 1952 comprised of founder Aloys Dornbracht and his son Helmut. Their first patented product, an extended spout fitting, was put in a suitcase and sold door-to-door by Aloys himself who was 57 at the time. Father and son worked in different companies, pooled their salaries to raise enough capital, and settled in a small place in Iserlohn, Germany as their HQ. It was a combination of determination to get the business off the ground and truly innovative fittings that led them to produce as much as 40,000 pieces per month some years after the company was founded.
Fresh PersPectives
Dornbracht has gone through more than six decades of evolving design trends and consumer whims with success. The company has produced numerous ingenious products, solidifying a name that now equals to the most creative innovations in luxury bathroom fittings. The company expanded in the late ’50s; the ’60s and ’70s brought focus on functionality, prompting Dornbracht to redesign its
Dornbracht has gone through more than six decades of ebb and flow of design trends and consumer whims with success
products’ water points. They launched a washbasin with a single-lever mixer, a shower with thermostat, and mirrored cabinets with shelf, light, and switch functions in the form of wide, crescent-shaped fittings that appealed to their customers and began a new market segment for the company.
But it was the Domani fittings in the ’80s, a design based on geometric shapes with a circular hole on its lever, which propelled Dornbracht to global fame. Domani’s design stood out; some even called it sensational because designers all over the world attempted to imitate it. It broke ground for a new and aesthetic understanding of contemporary bathroom design at a time when designers and creators put form and function over aesthetics. It was Dornbracht’s first collaboration with designer Peter Sieger, who also contributed to the company’s subsequent creations.
Dornbracht was on a roll, and in the ’90s, the classic Tara. series was introduced to the world. It was a two-handle series and a minimalist redesign of the two-handle mixer by Sieger. It was an alternative to the popular single-lever mixers with its beautiful crosshandles and semi-circular shaped spout. It won many international awards and continues to be the model of modern bathroom architecture in the world. In 1996, Dornbracht began to commission photographers, authors, musicians, and designers to work on designs that involve rituals and culture, showing their commitment to the arts.
Family legacy Andreas Dornbracht, CEO, managing director, and the grandson of founder Aloys, visited the Dornbracht showroom in Taguig
Now a leader in product design, Dornbracht launched its first modular and grid-based fittings system, Symetrics. For architects and planners, it was a fresh take in interior design with its individual modules that adhere to a defined grid size. It allows for customisation as the spouts and controls are separated.
In a recent visit to the Philippines, thirdgeneration Andreas Dornbracht, CEO and managing director, said that they are guided by their brand’s philosophy and principles that focus on creating premium fittings with functional designs and forward-thinking concepts. In creating classic innovative products, Dornbracht makes sure that they strictly follow the brand’s five pillars of their design language: proportion, precision, progressiveness, personality, and performance. The ultimate goal? To transform the bathroom from a functional room to a place of relaxation and rejuvenation.