The Amiata bath and Amiata 60 basin by Victoria + Albert have won a prestigious Red Dot Design Award.
Created by the designers Meneghello e Paolelli Associati, the Amiata collection - comprising a bath and the Amiata 60 basin - is handfinished and made entirely of QUARRYCAST®, a material consisting of Volcanic LimestoneTM blended with resin. It is the British company's first collection designed by external designers.
"We are very proud of this award," commented Jonathan Carter, Victoria + Albert's Marketing Director, "which comes just before we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our company's foundation, and augurs well for the future."
"Designing Amiata", explained Sando Meneghello of Meneghello Paolelli Associati, "was a major challenge, which we rose to by adhering to the principles of tradition, nature and simplicity, and projecting them onto the final form of the product. We focused on the curve of the section, which is the key point that defines the whole body. This curve was studied carefully and precisely, because the slightest deviation from the ideal value has a marked impact on the final form."
Amiata is a neo-classically styled collection, which is rooted in antique tradition but finds its highest expression in the simplicity of contemporary design, through the use of simple, soft contours that evoke the styles of a bygone age.
The bath is capacious but compact, and is very comfortable and welcoming for users. It is reversible and freestanding and is thus designed to bring an exclusive touch to almost any type of environment. The practical, functional basin, meanwhile, is the ideal complement for any top, and gives the bathroom a distinctive character.
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The Red Dot Awards, established in 1955 by Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen of Essen, are divided into three categories: design, product, Design Concept and Communication Design. For the 2015 edition, the jury assessed 4,928 entries by 1,994 different manufacturers, designers and architects, from 56 countries worldwide. The awards ceremony for the winning products will be held in Essen on 29 June. The products will then go on display in the Red Dot Design Museum, and have already earned the right to be marked with the Red Dot symbol, an international endorsement of design excellence.
