Bathroom and washroom manufacturer, Ideal Standard, has been breaking ground in the bathroom arena for decades, bringing in innovation and progressive design at a time when the average bathroom was not given the deserved spotlight in terms of aesthetics.
The brand recently launched their new Atelier Collections, created in collaboration with Italian studio Palomba Serafini Associati (PS+A), marking a new era for the company moving forward.
With globally renowned designer Roberto Palomba at the helm, Atelier Collections takes inspiration from iconic Ideal Standard products of the past to shape the bathrooms of the future. The Collections’ ceramics, brassware and furniture products are a combination of PS+A’s unique design vision and Ideal Standard’s years of manufacturing expertise, coupled with a responsible production ethic emerging from the brand’s sustainable outlook for the future.
The aim of Collections is to create a laboratory of sorts that fosters the process of creation, bringing together innovation and beauty, and giving birth to timeless design.
Palomba joined hands with Ideal Standard in 2018. He took inspiration from and redesigned the Conca collection, originally created by renowned Italian designer, Achille Castiglioni in 1970. Conca’s philosophy was based on the functional and aesthetic value of the geometrical structure in architecture, in design and in the figurative arts.
At the launch of the Atelier Collections in Dubai’s world standard EXPO 2020 exhibition, we met with Roberto Palomba to learn more about the journey, vision and inspiration for Atelier.
“For an architect or designer, the new collection provides a very easy spectrum to work with,” says Palomba. “It was very important for me to create a large, flexible and inclusive portfolio because I believe it is important for everyone in this day and age to have the freedom to express themselves. In this journey, the Ideal Standard team has been really fantastic and cooperative, bringing a collection to life that was a shared dream and a shared goal.
“The Atelier has become the engine of Ideal Standard, that will take us into the future. One where we are not only experimenting with new materials and new technologies, but also working on making the brand’s products aesthetically exquisite, and respectful of the environment.”
– Roberto Palomba, Chief Design Officer, Ideal Standard Group
“When I started as Chief Design Officer of the brand, my thinking was very strategic. My vision was to try to find a way to link the future to our great past, and the only way was to try to spotlight those values that the brand has held in the past.
“Ideal Standard had brought the element of design to the bathroom at a time when this was not at all a norm. The brand looked to create a world culture then, and my role today is to recreate this very cultural relationship between the brand and the end user. It was very important to create a new product that had these core values, and then forge a new path that was going to start the next phase of the brand’s future – to create something completely new, but respectful of its roots and heritage. And it has proved to be a winning strategy judging purely by how the perception of the brand has changed in the last couple of years.
“The Atelier represents the most premium and sophisticated aspect of the brand, where designers from around the world can create and innovate. It is also where we have the space to conduct research and work on experimental products. In the future, I would like to integrate even young talent.
“The Atelier has become the engine of Ideal Standard, that will take us into the future. One where we are not only experimenting with new materials and new technologies, but also working on making the brand’s products aesthetically exquisite, and respectful of the environment.
“We are investing a lot in the latter – In the new line of production, everything is going to be tightly controlled, ensuring sustainable production methods, responsible sourcing, and a deep rooted respect for the earth, as we really believe that there is no future without that.
