2013 marks the 31st year of the Cersaie tile and bathroom trade fair. Colleen Black reports on the latest in Bathrooms and Ceramics.

Drawing over 70,000 visitors, over 20000 visitors from the Southeast Asian region attended, positioning the event as a focus for many markets.

Rug from Fondovalle

With almost 900 exhibitors this year, established brands stand alongside the smaller players with some big name collaborations attracting attention such as Patrick Norguet for Flaminia, Starck for Ceramica Sant’Agostino, Nendo and Studio Round for Axor and Marcel Wanders for Bisazza.

Nendo for Axor

In the Tile section this year we found many brands offering tailored collections to suit the A&D market rather than a single “new product”. There were collections that took the usual suspects (Marble & Timber-look tiles) to the next level by diversifying that product’s offering, empowering each with the potential for use in all manner of applications. We also found a re-emergence of print – bright colours, intricate patterns and lots of digital printing providing endless opportunities.

Marcel Wander for Bisazza

Bathrooms did not disappoint this year. Tap-ware had a focus on new materials and finishes like brushed metal and rose gold colours came to the fore. Ceramic forms in the bathroom moved away from the “round” look and into more geometric forms with contemporary, clean lines. Unlike last year there were little to no coloured ceramic basins or toilets to be seen – pure, clean & white is enjoying a renaissance.

CEA Design

Cersaie which is usually known for the ceramic trade, had more and more brands turning away from tradition and investing in new solid surface materials like Christplant, Kreon and Corian, including one of Italy’s most design forward brands Antonio Lupi. We watch with interest to see how these new materials and their evolving production techniques will progress and change the bathroom landscape.

Patrick Norguet for Cermaica Flaminia

Below are a few of our favourites from Cersaie 2013:

1. Flexible Architecture by Ceramica Sant’Agostino

Collaborating with Starck, this collection poses itself as being part of the Architecture of a project rather than just a surface. The tile abandons its traditional function and becomes a modular decorative element.

2. Rug by Fondovalle

Rug is characterised by the materiality and weave of carpet. Multiformat proposals from Fondavelle offer specifiers innovative configuration options.

3. Lamp Shower by Axor

The new showerhead is designed by Nendo’s Oki Sato. “Neither a lamp nor a shower, it is a hybrid,” says the 35-year-old Sato. The lightness of the visual design and the combination of light and water impart a heightened sensual dimension.

4.  Flex Shower Box/Virgo Shower Tray by Arblu

Flex is the new space-saving shower box, presented by Arblu at Cersaie 2013, adapting to any type of space.

5. Innovo by CEA

The essential shapes of this mixer hide its strong vocation for technology and sustainability. The built-in parts simplify construction work, the mixer opens from cold water to hot, to guarantee energy saving, and the aerator provided with flow limiter ensures water conservation.

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