DE ARCHITECTS
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S-053
year 1971
material ceramic
source title Achille Castiglioni
info “I was first contacted in 1969,” wrote Castiglioni in 1994. “Ideal Standard’s PR agency got in touch with me. It was selecting designers for a competition for a suit of bathroom fittings to be sold in Europe. In the end I was chosen together with a Vietnamese working in Belgium.” Castiglioni experimented with vitreous china whose brilliancy remains practically untarnished for years. It is a soft, malleable paste, which can be poured into moulds of any shape and is then fired at 1,300°C, making it remarkable durable. The range was called Aquatonda and consisted of three basic pieces designed as smooth, compact volumes, sculpted objects conspicuous for their curves. In the case of the washstand the form of the basin was deepened in the middle to collect more water and enlarged in front to catch the drops from the elbows of the person using it. The front edge was shaped to contain splashes. The water pipes were contained in a small space and concealed by the lines of the stand. The other two elements of the suite were similar in form. The toilet is a single piece—almost a monolith—combining the bowl with the cistern case, its shape being determined by the position of the u-bend. The three units were marketed in white, gray, blue, yellow, pink, mink, and two shades of green.
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year 1971
material ceramic
source title Achille Castiglioni
info “I was first contacted in 1969,” wrote Castiglioni in 1994. “Ideal Standard’s PR agency got in touch with me. It was selecting designers for a competition for a suit of bathroom fittings to be sold in Europe. In the end I was chosen together with a Vietnamese working in Belgium.” Castiglioni experimented with vitreous china whose brilliancy remains practically untarnished for years. It is a soft, malleable paste, which can be poured into moulds of any shape and is then fired at 1,300°C, making it remarkable durable. The range was called Aquatonda and consisted of three basic pieces designed as smooth, compact volumes, sculpted objects conspicuous for their curves. In the case of the washstand the form of the basin was deepened in the middle to collect more water and enlarged in front to catch the drops from the elbows of the person using it. The front edge was shaped to contain splashes. The water pipes were contained in a small space and concealed by the lines of the stand. The other two elements of the suite were similar in form. The toilet is a single piece—almost a monolith—combining the bowl with the cistern case, its shape being determined by the position of the u-bend. The three units were marketed in white, gray, blue, yellow, pink, mink, and two shades of green.
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