Concept Cars demonstrate what might be possible in the automobile industry through design studies that are not intended to be manufactured as production series. The prototypes of the Monolith family are the Concept Cars 2011 from Geberit. Monolith studies were presented for the first time at the ISH in Frankfurt, the world’s largest showplace for innovative bathroom design, energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning technology and renewable energies, as part of the “Illumination, integration and individuality” theme. With Monolith for WCs, Geberit presented a product that is equipped with an orientation light and touchless actuation. In keeping with Monolith’s minimalist design, the light is only visible at night to show the bathroom’s basic outline. The Monolith for washbasins and wall-mounted taps combines the concealed mixer of the wall-mounted tap, trap and storage area with sideways opening draws in a single element. The glass surfaces, printed on both sides in various colors and motifs, open up completely new possibilities in bathroom design.
The wheel reinvented
The purist Monolith for WCs, launched last year, is a completely new element in the bathroom and has already won the renowned “iF product design award 2010”. It is a cistern that is no longer a cistern – a focal point and an attractive alternative to exposed cisterns. Geberit commissioned the Tribecraft studio in Zurich to design the product. The team of industrial designers around Daniel Irányi and Tom Stäubli succeeded in reinventing the wheel with the design of the Monolith. Simply developing one more cistern was not innovative enough for Tribecraft. They based their design work on architectural, space-related considerations, the goal being to completely redesign the WC ceramic. The result is a sanitary module that defines the bathroom as “low-height furniture” and, at the same time, conceals the complete sanitary technology in a sophisticated manner behind a glass surface and brushed aluminum. The standards of superior design, quality and the proven application technology of Geberit can be seen in every detail. Behind the elegant module are water supply and discharge leads, cistern, dual-flush actuation and the connection for the WC. Its installation provides an aesthetic, stylish change in the bathroom without major costs and conversions, not only in new buildings but especially in renovation.
A large number of individual design options
Discussions on the topic “Monolith as low-height furniture” ultimately led to the idea of a Monolith family. The narrow version of the Monolith for washbasins and wall-mounted taps will be launched in spring 2012. The element complements the Monolith for WCs and is an elegant solution for tiled walls in the bathroom. A slightly differentiated design distinguishes the two Monoliths from one another.
The addition of one of the modules creates many individual design options through which the bathroom becomes a harmoniously designed room, structured by its functional areas. Depending on the room concept, the Monolith’s clear and purist stylistic elements let it play a supporting role in a room’s design or be its starring focal point.
The narrow version of the new Monolith for washbasins and wall-mounted taps will be available in Europe starting April 1, 2012.
