Dornbracht

When in the 1990s it began to arrange performances where fashionable creative talents such as Fabrizio Plessi of Italy or Matali Crasset of France realized what were sometimes fascinating and at other times perplexing visions, the bathroom fittings manufacturer from the Sauerland region managed to update its image in the avant-garde direction using artistic means. These activities, dedicated to exploring the “Spirit of Water”, elevated the once-humble bathroom to a place where what goes on is no longer considered banal, but rather profoundly human. Hygiene as concept was replaced by buzzwords like “contemplation” and “ritual”. Back when Aloys F. Dornbracht began making standard taps in the early 1950s, no one could have predicted that the enterprise would one day assume such a lofty profile. The young company was soon setting its sights on the international market, and evolved into a paragon of the Economic Miracle whose booming sales (in 1970 the equivalent of 5 million, in 2004 around 126 million euros) were readily evident from the continual expansion of the production halls. Complementing the ambitious art events is the outstanding design quality of the products. Design is something Dornbracht discovered in the mid-1980s. The turning point was the single-lever tap Domani – in English “tomorrow” – by Dieter Sieger, which would become one of the world’s most decorated taps. International industry greats such as Massimo Iosa Ghini, Jean Marie Massaud and Michael Graves have since contributed their signatures to the high-class product range. The collaboration with the Sieger Design studio has proven particularly fruitful. Domani was followed by further attention-getting series, among them Meta, Tara and Mem. The new bathroom “Designed in Germany” also featured up-to-the-minute furniture such as the cabinet beam Space Bar by Christophe Pillet and the transparent acrylic lounge chair Wave by Massaud (k p.430). The Meta Plasma cabinet and shelf series by Sieger Design (k p.541) is noteworthy for its strong colours, transparent plastic, and light effects – further elements of the modern hygiene stage whose possibilities are far from exhausted.