Laufen Bathrooms exhibits at TENT during London Design Festival

150 150 Daniel Fountain
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The material revolution continues with new experimental projects designed by students at HGK, the Academy of Art and Design Basel/Switzerland, utilising the material capabilities of SaphirKeramik, to be presented inside the Swiss country pavilion at TENT in collaboration with Design Prize Switzerland and Laufen Bathrooms.

For the 10th edition of the London Design Fair, 22 to 25 September 2016, Laufen Bathrooms will be on hand at TENT, Truman Brewery with a special area in collaboration with Design Prize Switzerland, the competition whose goal is to encourage exchange, mediation and promotion of Swiss design.

This area will host a selection of winning projects in the SaphirKeramik contest – a competition involving students from the Academy of Art and Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst) HGK of Basel, who were asked to explore the limits and potential of SaphirKeramik through the creation of innovative objects for the bath using the award winning material developed by Laufen. An expert jury, which included the renowned designers Konstantin Grcic and Toan Nguyen, honoured the best designs.

Besides the results of this stimulating competition, the space will feature several products in SaphirKeramik from the VAL collection designed by Konstantin Grcic, which demonstrate Laufen’s ability to also produce items with this material on an industrial scale.

The incessant research continues on SaphirKeramik, the revolutionary material launched by Laufen in 2013, which thanks to the corundum additive in its formula makes it possible to produce ceramics in smaller thicknesses with very strong walls, leading to slimmer lines, a true breakthrough for the world of bathroom ceramics. Started in-house with a long development phase and then pursued in collaboration with renowned designers, this research has now been opened up to students as well, with their ability to bring a different, stimulating approach – fresh, creative ideas, free of the influences generated by years of professional experience.

Experimentation has always been one of the strong points of Laufen Bathrooms, which once again demonstrates its role of leadership in terms of innovation and design, working not only with internationally acclaimed designers but also with talented young creatives.

Daniel Fountain / 20.09.2016

Editor, Hotel Designs

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