November 4, 2010

LAUFEN Honored With Two GREEN GOOD DESIGN Awards for Innovative Green Products and Architecture

Swiss Manufacturer Receives Industry’s Most Prestigious Award for Architecture and Environmental Stewardship

LAUFEN, SWITZERLAND – Leading Swiss bathroom brand LAUFEN is the recipient of two GREEN GOOD DESIGN Awards in 2010 – one for Product Design of their ILBAGNOALESSI ONE toilet, and the second award for Architecture for LAUFEN’s exhibition, training and visitor centre called LAUFEN FORUM. Presented by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, the GREEN GOOD DESIGN Awards are an extension of the GOOD DESIGN^™ Awards. GOOD DESIGN, celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year, is the world’s oldest and most coveted international design award, bestowed only to the most important and influential industrial and graphic designers.

“To receive not one, but two GREEN GOOD DESIGN Awards is an incredible honor and for this LAUFEN is both proud and humbled,” said Mike Teresso, Executive Director of LAUFEN North America. “The ILBAGNOALESSI ONE toilet and the LAUFEN FORUM are a clear reflection of LAUFEN’s corporate philosophy, brand and market presentation,” Teresso continued, “LAUFEN produces products that combine superb technology and design, and always with an eye toward sustainability. We look forward to living up to the honor bestowed on us by this prestigious program,” Teresso concluded.

LAUFEN Product Design winner – the ILBAGNOALESSI ONE toilet, designed by Stefano Giovannoni of Italian Design Firm Alessi, is characterized by timeless form, sparkling imagination and a hint of eccentricity. Available as a freestanding or wall mount, the ILBAGNOALESSI ONE toilet features an oval form with flowing lines and round curves, turning the bathroom in to a place of intimacy. In addition to intelligent technical details and qualities such as antibacterial surface finishes and a silent hydraulic lid-closing system, the ILBAGNOALESSI ONE toilet meets EPA WaterSense tank-type high-efficiency requirements with an average of below 1.28 gpf. GREEN GOOD DESIGN judges recognized the ILBAGNOALESSI ONE toilet’s combination of beauty and environmental responsibility and awarded it with the Product Design honor.

GREEN GOOD DESIGN bestowed the Architecture Award on the LAUFEN FORUM for its unique and sophisticated design. Renowned as a hub for inspirational bathrooms where architects, planners, retailers, tradesmen and end customers gather to experience the Swiss brand and its product, the LAUFEN FORUM is a virtually windowless, concrete structure. The impressive 21,325-square-foot structure houses exhibition, presentation and training space in addition to LAUFEN product displays. Basel-based architecture firm Nissen & Wentzlaff collaborated with LAUFEN to design the FORUM, based on the minimum energy standard. GREEN GOOD DESIGN judges recognized the LAUFEN FORUM for the integrated architectural statement that it is and bestowed the structure with the Architecture Award.

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About GOOD DESIGN^™
Founded in Chicago in 1950 by architects Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. GOOD DESIGN bestows international recognition upon the world’s most prominent designers and manufacturers for advancing new, visionary, and innovative product concepts, invention and originality, and for stretching the envelope beyond what is considered ordinary product and consumer design. The 2010 GREEN GOOD DESIGN Award winners are listed on the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies website www.europeanarch.eu.

About LAUFEN
Having defined bathroom culture since 1892, LAUFEN was the first creator of ceramic bathroom products in Switzerland, and is now the leading global manufacturer of complete bathroom solutions for modern lifestyles. LAUFEN has made a commitment and investment in the U.S. and Canada, and is offering a range of products that were selected and code approved for the North American market. LAUFEN has complete inventory and customer service support in both Miami and Toronto. Renowned for their traditional fine ceramic technique, LAUFEN products characterize Swiss workmanship, boasting precision, high quality and design. As the premium brand of the Roca group – the largest ceramic bath product manufacturer worldwide – LAUFEN employs a staff of 2,000 specialists that understand the technology, design and functionality needed to constantly reinvent the bath. With branches in 17 countries and global representation, LAUFEN manufactures over four million ceramic pieces annually. A timeless aesthetic and classic appeal have led designers like Stefano Giovannoni and Wiel Arets for the Italian Design Firm Alessi and Ludovica and Roberto Palomba to invest themselves in the LAUFEN design movement. Visit LAUFEN on the web at www.laufen.com/usa  or www.laufen.com/canada.

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