Above image: Axel Meissner (left), Hansgrohe Product Manager, Andreas Haug (middle), founding member and partner at Phoenix Design, and Philippe Grohe, Head of the designer brand Axor, deliberate over submitted design concepts

This year’s Hansgrohe Award for sustainable water-related designs has selected five visionary concepts from emerging designers. The competition was conducted within the realms of the iF Concept Design Award 2014. This year’s competition received more than 180 entries from around the world.

This year’s event, which was the fourth edition of the awards program, was organized in Hamburg. The prize money, totaling 5000 Euros, will be shared among the winners, who hail from China, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Germany.

Andrea van Velzen (left), iF Design Talents and Astrid Bachmann (right), Public Relations Manager at Hansgrohe SE, presented Petr Strejcek (middle) from the Czech Technical University with his Hansgrohe Prize 2014 for his concept ‘Elastigenic’

“As the initiator and sponsor of the ‘Hansgrohe Award 2014: Efficient Water Design’, we want to give young designers the opportunity to address the element of water and to present their ideas to an expert jury,” said Philippe Grohe, Head of the designer brand Axor at Hansgrohe SE. “This year’s submissions show interesting approaches to efficient water design. I was particularly pleased to see the large number of international submissions – these clearly show that the interplay of water and space is gaining importance with young designers from all over the world.”

The jury members, Andreas Haug, one of the founders and partners of Phoenix Design in Stuttgart, Axel Meissner, Hansgrohe Product Manager, and Philippe Grohe, were particularly impressed with the two concepts from Sweden and Germany: ‘Houdini’ and ‘Puro’. The Houdini concept by Christoffer Ohlander (Konstfack University, Stockholm, Sweden) has been described as an ‘incredibly compact sanitary object that combines three functions: sink, shower and bathtub’. The Puro is a low water consuming washbasin designed by Fabrice Hoefgen from the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt, Germany.

The ‘Houdini’

Entry: Houdini | Multi-functional bathroom unit
Design: Christoffer Ohlander
University: Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm/Sweden
Prize money: €1500

Houdini is a 3-in-1 solution that is ideal for small bathrooms. The concept includes a sink, a shower and a bathtub all rolled into one. The low material consumption and simple design make Houdini an all-round efficient concept.

Entry: Puro | Sink
Design: Fabrice Hoefgen
University: Hochschule Darmstadt, University of Applied Sciences, Department of Design, Darmstadt/Germany
Prize money: €1500

Puro’s wave-like flat design reminds of the natural movement of water. A stainless-steel stone placed in the center controls the water flow in the sink. The economical water flow is activated when the stone is lifted. At the same time, it serves as soap that neutralises unpleasant smells and germs. The decorative perforation in the sink allows the water to drain away slowly.

The ‘Puro’

Entry: Elastigenic | Bathroom concept
Design: Petr Strejcek
University: Czech Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Prague/Czech Republic
Prize money: €1000

The Elastigenic bathroom consists primarily of an elastic material that can be used to form such objects as a sink, bathtub, towel racks, handle bars, etc. It can also be completely returned to its original smooth surface to make cleaning quick and easy. A telescope mechanism under the surface makes it possible to easily form and ‘unform’ the components.

The ‘Elastigenic’

Entry: Kengai | Concept shower
Design: Oliver Keyerleber, Fabian Bitter
University: Hochschule Coburg, Integrated Product Design, Coburg/Germany
Prize money: €500

The Kengai concept shower is made up of three cascading modules with different functions. The water pours like rain from the top cascade and then flows through a steam and an herb module, which support the use of natural medicinal herbs. With the help of a smartphone app, natural lighting moods can be captured and projected onto an illumination surface to create an all-round natural shower experience.

Entry: Energy-saving shower | Shower
Design: Xiangying Lin
University: Huaqiao University, Department of Industrial Design, Xiamen/China
Prize money: €500

The energy-saving shower combines extraordinarily minimalistic design with functional style elements that help to save both water and energy. The semi-circular holder includes the showerhead and also has a panel to set the exact water temperature and maximum water consumption.