Bathing beauties
With an eye on innovation and colour, ISH 2017 debuted top energy and water technology products from around the globe
With over 200,000 visitors and 2482 exhibitors from 61 countries, ISH Frankfurt, the world’s leading trade fair for the combination of water and energy, once again brought the world’s top trends to a global audience.
With the themes of ‘ Bathrooms for People’ and ‘ Technology for People’, exhibitors embraced digitalisation. Launches included products that promote health, bespoke settings, advanced customisation options and installation technology, as well as eco-design directives.
Along with sleek lines, dramatic curves and visually floating designs, bold colours such as raspberry avocado stole the show. Spa-like design elements designed to address health, wellness, comfort and convenience were integrated into the highly-stylised design concepts, which also included technologies related to conservation and connection to the highly advanced solutions offered by today’s smart-home technologies.
The Scaletta heated towel rack, from radiator specialist Tubes, is an example of this year’s design-orientated solutions. A far cry from traditional heated towel rails, it is familiar and fun, as it can be positioned anywhere since it does not require installation – you can even take it with you if you move.
“The image of a ladder resting against a wall makes one think of something new, of human industry, of the future, of going from the bottom upwards. It embodies the opposing concepts of dynamism and stillness. It is a positive icon. This heating ‘ ladder’ is an item that I have long desired
for my home, so I think it answers one of the first questions people have when observing a new item of design,” explains its designer Elisa Giovannoni.
Colour and texture could be seen in The. Artceram’s new collections, which focus on creating multisensory experiences. Velluto features vivid colours, while Ecomalta is free of toxic substances, environmentally friendly, recyclable and coloured with environmentally-friendly pigments.
Geberit’s new AquaClean Mera Classic shower-toilet’s chrome surfaces create an impression of floating, accentuated by the play of reflections. It includes highly effective, low-noise odour extraction, an intelligent warm air dryer and even a user-friendly remote control, which allows you to operate the various functions in an intuitive way to suit your personal preferences.
The company’s Comfort model also offers a discreet orientation light, which is activated via a proximity sensor and attracts attention straight away – as well as serving as a guide at night. The WC lid opens automatically as you approach, so there is no need to lift it manually. Activated by the same proximity sensor, the ergonomically shaped WC seat starts warming up as soon as you approach it. All these functions use virtually no electricity in their idle state.
Exemplary design even extends to the packaging design with Laufen’s washbasin and toilet in a box. Within the Laufen Pro and Laufen Pro S ranges, the Swiss bathroom specialist is now offering pre-packed boxes containing all the important components required for fast and simple washbasin and toilet installation.
Bold and beautiful, this year’s trends revealed that even our most intimate moments can be guided by style and substance from head to toe.