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Stuttgart-based fittings manufacturer Hansa convinced the prestigious iF product design awards jury of the excellence of two of its products ahead of this year’s prize-giving. Unusual bathroom mixer Hansalatrava and creative thermostat Hansatempra Style were subsequently selected from almost 2,500 product proposals and presented with the 2010 iF product design award.
An unparalleled prize
The iF product design award is by no means a conventional distinction. The annual competition, held this year for the 56th time, is considered one of the world’s most famous and time-honoured design contests, organised by iF International Forum Design GmbH on behalf of the association iF Industrie Forum Design e.V.
Like every other year, an international jury of experts set to work to ascertain and acknowledge the most unusual design products. These should do more than impress visually at first glance. In the category “Bathroom and Wellness”, for example, products were assessed according to design quality, workmanship, innovation level, environmental sustainability and functionality.
Hansalatrava and Hansatempra Style inspire the jury
And the sculptural basin mixer Hansalatrava fulfils all these requirements. It creates a new archetype, both via the mixer’s asymmetry and thanks to the command it issues to the water to adopt a precisely constructed shape, an absolutely unprecedented, diagonal laminar jet. The delicate, almost two-dimensional water curtain is created with the aid of a specially developed jet shaper and a complex channel flow. And, as far as the environment is concerned, the mixer uses up to 50 per cent less water than a standard model. The iconic mixer was created by design duo Bruno Sacco, a household name thanks to many years as head designer for Daimler Benz, and Reinhard Zetsche.
The Hansatempra Style thermostat impressed the jury just as much. The design team at NOA, Aachen, exchanged the typical cylindrical design for a soft droplet shape, creating an unparalleled play of form. The thermostat not only has a great design, but is also economical when it comes to water consumption. It is possible to configure an eco-function which reduces the amount of water by 50 per cent. The appealing combination of round and angular shapes and the ingenious economy function have earned Hansa its second iF product design award of the year.
The award ceremony took place in Hanover on 2nd March 2010.
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