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World Design Day was celebrated by Budapest Design Week in a very inspiring milieu: Hungarian female designers and CEO’s from the design and architecture sector had the chance to discuss the future of design – from a woman’s perspective.

As part of this conversation, Eszter Radnóczy shared her opinion on woman leadership in design, the need for resilience and the possibilities AI holds for the creative sector. As Eszter said: building your creative dreams has never been so challenging, also, never so exciting and full of possibilities.

At the end of March, the largest trade event in the field of modern heating, ventilation, air conditioning and smart water use, ISH 2023, was held in Frankfurt, which this year could be visited both in person and in digital form. Este’r partners’ colleague, Réka Harkay-Farkas was on site, and we asked her about the latest technical innovations.

Every two years, ISH presents smart solutions and technical innovations in the application of heating, ventilation and water use. Why was it important for you to participate in this event?

In the life of our company, it has always been very important to obtain first-hand information about novelties, technical developments, and the latest trends. Unfortunately, ISH was delayed for years due to the epidemic, so it is a great pleasure that we were able to return here again after 4 years! Unfortunately, several manufacturers canceled the exhibition due to cost reduction considerations, but those who exhibited set the bar very high. Lots of technical innovations, development, time and energy saving as well.

Why are face-to-face meetings important?

Such a large-scale exhibition is always a good opportunity to meet the representatives of the manufacturers, who are ready to show us the novelties and interesting things, for example, what is worth paying attention to when designing, with a complete stand management. On such occasions, we also gather important arguments why it is worth recommending a particular company’s product to our customers. They always report on the use of materials and the quality requirements of the products, so the knowledge expands, and we can see live what we could see before through the monitor or from the catalog.

What novelties, trends, technical innovations have you come across?

I would summarize it in points, because the current ISH was definitely interesting from several points of view.

1. “Companies distribute in new segments“: it is an important trend in recent years among manufacturers that new product segments are added to their portfolio. Villeroy&Boch introduced a complete faucet segment to its portfolio. Laufen offers a pre-wall installation system. Duravit has 3 new faucet families. Hansgrohe’s stand was a big surprise for me. We can furnish a complete bathroom with Hansgrohe products: in addition to faucets, ceramics, mirrors and furniture. Kaldewei, for example, also offers a shower drain. The goal is to be able to furnish a complete bathroom from one manufacturer, without having to look for separate manufacturers, and it presents manufacturers with a lot of competition, which I don’t think has ever happened before.
2. Sustainability: The bathroom has never been so “green”. The products save energy and water. First of all, faucets, for example, start with cold water, not immediately with mixed water, and there are even more serious aerators (which mix air with water). Another trendy term for ISH is “circular economy”. For example, at the Hansgrohe stand, I saw a faucet made entirely of recycled plastic. However, the topic of sustainability does not end here: The wood raw material of the furniture comes from sustainable cultivation, the packaging is made without plastic and everything can be recycled after the end of its useful life. And in production, factories are very careful to follow the “zero waste” principle, many factories can prove that the production process is CO2-free. In addition, in order to boost this even more at home, it is worth placing plants in the bathroom as the latest bathroom accessories, so that we can feel in nature.
3. Colors: The new trend color in the bathroom is clearly black and matte. The brave go one step further and find different versions of white matt, gold, rosegold, chrome, for example, at Axor you can actually get all bathroom products in black. In addition to its colorful faucets, Duravit also offers the furniture handles and the drain in the same color. Interesting fact: everyone has different shades of color, so we won’t be able to put products from two different factories in one bathroom if we think in terms of color.
4. Simplification of assembly: the goal of almost every factory is to have as few products as possible for craftsmen to install. A good example is the new Bette “Level” assembly system for shower trays. I was able to try it out, I managed to level a shower tray in 1.5 minutes.
5. Another product category that every factory pays a lot of attention to is anti-slip, which is especially important for the elderly and for those of you in hotels. The technology is refined every year, we all still remember the “dotted” shower trays, which were made non-slip with this technology. The Bette Anti-Slip Sense coating is unnoticeable and completely non-slip. It was also possible to try it out, so I will confidently recommend it to customers.

+1 Eye-catching elements: for example, I saw a completely new siphon system at the Geberit stand: finally, you don’t have to cut out a piece of the drawer under the sink for the siphon, because the siphon slides completely under the sink. Kaldewei presented a shower drain with heat recovery. At the Laufen stand, I saw a bathtub with a transparent bottom and light, we can combine the experience of bathing with light therapy through an LED system. At Hansgrohé, the true hero of the stand that was presented is a bathroom that saves 90 percent of energy and water. And it’s also ISH: Villeroy and Boch’s wonderful new sanitary ware colors worthy of its 275th anniversary are captivating.

This year’s ISH watchwords were sustainability and comfort. What have you experienced, how does this come across in the exhibitors’ offers?

As I mentioned before, everyone strives for sustainability, saving energy and water. There was also a huge selection of heating systems, the goal being sustainability and energy saving.

Did you have a personal favorite among the novelties, what stuck out the most?

The stand of the three big ceramic manufacturers was a great experience. Villeroy&Boch’s concept with its colorful sanitary ware and new faucets captivated me, the reformation of Laufen’s Alessi product line is truly eye-catching in terms of colors and shapes, Duravit’s new furniture line with glass doors and simultaneously operable lighting attracts the eye not only with its design, but also simplifies use in terms of function.

Este’r partners received another professional recognition: the jury of the Klasszis Top Design 2022 competition gave the Hotel Designer of the Year award to Eszter Radnóczy and the este’r partners team. This year, este’r partners has worked on interior design solutions for hotel projects such as the Emerald Residence&Suits on Szervita tér and the Hotel Oktogon, that opened this summer, also the art’otel located on Bem tér, which was created in international cooperation. The renovation of the public space of one of the popular hotels on the Balaton shore is also happening, just as the construction of the hotel and restaurant called the General’s House in Tokaj, which is being built with a special wine chapel – este’r partners are working with great enthusiasm on the new spaces of the hotel industry.

“I received the award with great pleasure, as our team has been working on the interior design of hotel spaces since the founding of este’r partners. Hotel design is always unique and exciting, as we always try to show something elegant, cool or trendy and interior, while at the same time understanding and knowing what provides travelers with comfort is essential. Without my team at este’r partners, these complex projects of many years would not have been possible, I am so grateful for their work!” – said Eszter Radnóczy after the award ceremony.

The award was received by lead designers Eszter Radnóczy and Csilla Szabó on behalf of our team at the ceremony held at the Mystery Hotel. At the award ceremony, Johannes Westreicher, the owner of the Grand Hotel Lienz in East Tyrol, greeted the finalists in a short video message on behalf of the international jury, Zsuzsanna Ács, managing director of the Klasszis Group, which launched the competition, and designer Zoltán Varró, the president of the jury, also spoke. This year, for the first time, Klasszis Top Design awarded creators who provide unique solutions in the hospitality and hotel industry in the Hungarian Horeca industry.

In the life of este’r partners, autumn means travel: this is when we visit our partners, see their new products, but also visit the most important autumn exhibitions. Cersaie International Exhibition in Bologna is a permanent program in our calendar, where the most beautiful Italian ceramic manufacturers present their new products every year. The este’r partners team prepared a short report on this year’s event.

One of our first experiences was visiting 41Zero42: the youthful, relaxed, often humorous presentation of the Italian company led us through the cavalcade of colors. The fresh-thinking brand involves contemporary art in its design processes in a very exciting way for us. In addition to the exciting, powerful patterns, the color choices and the alternation of glossy and matte ceramics were also impressive.

Mutina recently moved to a new showroom: we were very happy to visit them, and not only because of the warm welcome. In the huge, creative exhibition space, in addition to their new collection, our team was greeted by a fresh and exciting selection of design furniture. In addition to the colorful, patterned, glazed ceramics, there were more restrained pieces with a structured surface. Exciting cultures mix spectacularly in the Mutina showroom: it’s easy to happily get lost in the Italian, French and Japanese influences and, of course, to touch everything.

During the visit to Cersaie, our team also visited the showroom of Emilgroup, one of the partners of este’r partners and the Estorio showroom. Emilgroup, one of the most important Italian tile manufacturers, dazzles us year after year with its new products, among which there is almost no limit to the workmanship, the varied colors and styles, or the sizes.

In addition to the three highlights, this year’s Cersaie exhibition had a number of colors, shines and surfaces that caught our team’s attention. To finish our journal from Cersaie 2022, let’s see a little selection from our favourites!

Eszter Radnóczy and este’r partners have won an international award: the prestigious Italian ceramic tile manufacturer Emilgroup has announced the winners in four categories. Este’r partners won the Italian company’s award for the design solutions of a high-class residential building in Budapest. Eszter Radnóczy accepted the award in Italy – the interior design studio has won in the Prestige category. The winners were selected by the jury from hundreds of international entries.

“Emilgroup has been an important part of the Italian tile industry for a long time. The company includes five different brands, each based on different concepts and styles but all sharing a high level of manufacturing technology, quality and innovation. As interior designers, we love working with Emilgroup products because of their diversity, their wide range of products and their great value for money. Their slogan is one hundred percent true: Italian heart, worldwide vision. We are very grateful that such a renowned and respected Italian manufacturer has awarded a Hungarian project with this prize”, said Eszter Radnóczy after the award ceremony.