Dreiloch-Waschtischbatterie MEM

red dot: best of the best
red dot award: product design 2004

The design of the elemental. The term "wellness" is omnipresent and implies much more than the Indian Ayurveda or the Asian art of healing. It describes the many-layered search of Western culture for a feeling of unity with things. In this respect water, the elemental good and one of the greatest treasures of life has been the leading element in the design of the MEM fitting range. The working title "Sanus per aquam: Health through Water" is a symbol of the wellness culture that will give bathrooms a new face over the coming decades. Instead of the tap the element of water, which is perceived as coming straight from the well, has been the focus of the design. The design transcends itself in a higher meaning and establishes a different approach to the sensual and mental experience. The MEM language of form is almost abstractly reduced to an iconic system that everybody intuitively knows how to read. The familiar shapes, however, are interpreted rather symbolically: there are outlets reminiscent of the natural flow of water jets, taps as valves and trays that combine operating elements, presenting them as a unit. The proportions emphasise the iconic appeal by reducing the volumes to almost two-dimensional elements. The shape is meant to elevate each operation to a little ritual, therefore the water outlet is not fitted with the otherwise customary air mixer and instead lets clear, pure water flow - thus allowing the fitting to keep its promise of offering a sensual and mental experience.