INTERNATIONAL NEWS
13
Duravit celebrates
200 years
Duravit AG’s CEO, Frank Richter, discusses 200 years of Duravit, Duravit’s
DNA, and the bathroom of the future.
Two hundred years of Duravit. What does Duravit
stand for today?
Early in the company’s history, Duravit started out as a
ceramics specialist, before going on to become a manufacturer
of sanitaryware products. Today, Duravit AG is a leading
international manufacturer of designer bathrooms. Duravit
has carefully managed its brand, which is synonymous with
holistically designed bathrooms. In fact, we see ourselves as
interior designers for bathrooms as living areas, and have
ourselves played a key role in establishing the new significance
of bathrooms over the past 30 years. In the late 1980s, Duravit
worked with Dieter Sieger to present its first designer series
for the bathroom. Yet, Giamo was only the beginning. The first
complete designer bathroom, created with Philippe Starck,
revolutionised the sanitary industry when it was launched in 1994.
Today, numerous internationally renowned designers are working
for Duravit: Cecilie Manz is a brand new addition for 2017.
Does Duravit have its own
unmistakable DNA?
Our aspiration is to make designer bathrooms come alive. This
is guaranteed by highest quality, original design, and comfort-
enhancing technology. This brand essence defines our DNA
worldwide, and it distinguishes everything we do. For us, the
bathroom of the future is the ideal combination of these three
core competencies, and to advance our expertise continuously
in these areas, our product management works closely with
research and development departments, both inside the
company and externally, as well as with our designers.
What is it that accounts for Duravit’s quality?
Duravit is universally recognised for its long tradition and
outstanding expertise in the field of ceramic processing. We
have been involved in the production of top-quality and precision
ceramics since the time our company was first established, and
in this area in particular, close collaboration with our R&D team
has allowed us to create a continuous stream of innovations,
including DuraCeram, HygieneGlaze 2.0, and c-bonded, a
process that makes it possible to seamlessly combine ceramics
and bathroom furniture. Our product development combines
software-supported simulation techniques with a series of tests
conducted on physical models. In the areas of bathroom furniture
and wellness technologies, Duravit’s quality is evident, too, in the
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combination of craftsmanship with high-tech. This combination in
every area is certainly one of the most significant factors.
Does Duravit have a uniform
design language?
Duravit has a precisely formulated and recognisable design
language that is unique, and which is clearly based on
fundamental archetypal forms. We are contemporary without
being trendy, more straightforward than opulent, and always
timeless. We integrate comfort-enhancing technology, but
never at the expense of design, with the result that we
have been able to create a consistent design language that
extends beyond the individual products in the bathroom. In the
Duravit design language, everything fits together to create an
overarching whole.
How much technology does the bathroom of the
future need?
We always put ourselves in the user’s shoes, and we never
accept technology for technology’s sake. Comfort-enhancing
technology should be sustainably integrated into an appealing
overall design and should generate added value daily. Duravit
continually develops innovations in all areas, from materials
engineering to flushing technology and electrical engineering
for light, sound, and whirl systems, and the look, feel, acoustics,
and usability play a key role here, too. It is this unique interplay,
paired with our innovative prowess, that makes it possible to
digitise the bathroom intelligently. This is how Duravit is able to
satisfy the current and future demands of our customers.
Duravit AG
Founded in 1817 in Hornberg in the Black Forest, Germany,
Duravit AG is today a leading international manufacturer of
designer bathrooms. The company operates in more than 130
countries worldwide and stands for innovations in the field of
good design, the intelligent use of technology, and top quality.
In cooperation with high-profile international designers, such as
Philippe Starck and EOOS, the company develops comfortable
bathrooms that really enhance quality of life for users on a
sustained basis. Duravit’s product portfolio comprises sanitary
ceramics, bathroom furniture, baths and shower trays, wellness
systems, shower toilets, faucets, and accessories. PA
July 2017 Volume 23 I Number 5