The Grund Company in cooperation with Design Cabinet CZ under the patronage of the fathers of international design Luigi Colani of Germany and Alessandro Mendini of Italy announce the GRUND INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CONTEST with the theme "BATHROM TEXTILE STORY".
The prize for the winner is 5,000 euros! That makes it worthwhile to participate!
Our vision for the 21st century is another development of production, modernization and continual innovation of products and technologies. Keeping an eye on the trends and progress of European design gives us the possibility of making unusual and stylish creations, new forms and collections.
"Let’s make a new design for the bathroom of today and also of the future."
Contest
The Grund Company is a Czech business established in 1990. From humble beginnings of hand manufactured products in the family garage, the business has grown through the years to become one of the top producers of textile bath accessories. The company has a distribution centre and approximately 80 of its own shops. In addition to shops in shopping centres, customers can also use a mail order service, luxury boutiques with household textiles, and wholesalers in more than 40 countries around the world.
The main aim of the contest is to design a bathmat--single or set--in a variety of colours, different shapes and sizes, for the bathroom of (today and) the future, using today’s materials for bathmats (100% polyacrylic) or to find a new material solution. To produce the bathmat, today’s needlework technology should be used or possibly in combination with other technology. It is possible to design a different solution.
Contest information and the entry form can be found here:
Judges
Luigi
Colani
Visionary, globetrotter, and most of all extravagant designer. No field exists that Luigi Colani hasn’t been interested in throughout his life. He has created many different interesting designs for automobiles and motorcycles.
Alessandro
Mendini
Alessandro Mendini (born in Milan in1931) is an Italian architect, designer, and an important personality in the development of Italian and world design. In addition to his art career he has also worked for the well known magazines Domus, Casabella and Modo. In the 1970’s he was one of the main figures in the radical postmodernist movement in design. In 1979 Mendini joined the Studio Alchimi as a partner where he worked with the equally famous colleagues Ettore Sottsasse and Michele De Lucchi.
Luigi Colani
Luigi
Colani
Visionary, globetrotter, and most of all extravagant designer. No field exists that Luigi Colani hasn’t been interested in throughout his life. He has created many different interesting designs for automobiles and motorcycles.
He has worked with many prestigious companies such as Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Volkswagen, BMW, Boeing and also with NASA. He has designed automobiles, trains, boats, furniture... His greatest successes in the commercial world have been as a designer of shoes, glass, porcelain, and eyewear.
The world renowned and tempestuous designer Luigi Colani was born in Berlin in 1928. After World War II he studied painting and sculpture in his hometown and lived and worked in California for two years. He later studied aerodynamics for a few years at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1988 he was named honorary professor at Bremen University.
He designed many prototypes which amazed the public. Among these designs was a Chevrolet Corvette with an air resistance coefficient ex=0.25 and a speed of 360 kilometres per hour, a Citroen 2CV with spherical wheels, and a Porsche Indy T-80.
In 1992 Colani, who rose to become one of the best designers in the world, organized his first big exhibition in Dortmund-- “The Round World of Luigi Colani--40 Years of Design.”
How is it possible that Luigi Colani started designing bathmats for the well known Czech producer Grund from Mlade Buky near Trutnov? It’s “easy”. Jiri Grund Jr. picked up the phone, dialled the number, and was connected with the creator. Jiri didn’t hesitate, introduced the company, stated its position in Europe, and asked Colani directly if he would be willing to make a new collection for the Grund Company. Courage and bravado made the first meeting possible between Luigi Colani and the Grund Company. In 2006 the Grund Company introduced the first collection of Colani bathmats at the Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt and later to the public--a collection full of organic forms, colours, extravagance and originality. www.colani.de www.design-manufactory.com
Alessandro Mendini
Alessandro
Mendini
Alessandro Mendini (born in Milan in1931) is an Italian architect, designer, and an important personality in the development of Italian and world design. In addition to his art career he has also worked for the well known magazines Domus, Casabella and Modo. In the 1970’s he was one of the main figures in the radical postmodernist movement in design. In 1979 Mendini joined the Studio Alchimi as a partner where he worked with the equally famous colleagues Ettore Sottsasse and Michele De Lucchi.
As an architect he has designed several important buildings, for example the Alessi residence in Italy (Omega), the “Teatrino della Bicchieraia” theatre complex in the town of Arezzo, the memorial lookout tower in Hiroshima in Japan, the Groninger Museum in Holland and the Arosa Casino in Switzerland. As a designer he has worked with many major global firms. He has won many international awards including the Compasso d’oro in 1979 and 1982. Mendini has received an honorary title from the Architectural League of New York, as well as the “Chevalier des arts et des lettres” from France.
His work has always been characterized by a strong interest in a mixture of different cultures and different forms of expression. He has designed graphic art, furniture, interiors, architecture and is also a painter. Mendini has written countless articles and several books. He is an active member of the judging panel for architectural contests for young designers such as the DBEW competition in South Korea and the Braun Award. At the same time he ha been teaching at university in Milan. Now, together with his brother Francesco Mendini, he has his own studio in Milan--Atelier Mendini. For more information: www.ateliermendini.it
Alessandro Mendini accepted the role of judge in the Grund International Design Contest with the same enthusiasm as Luigi Colani. He was asked, the proposition was interesting for him, he made a close study of the conditions and he had practical input.
The involvement of Luigi Colani and Alessandro Mendini as judges is proof that for big designers there are no small tasks.
The Grund Company
The Grund Company was established in January 1990. Mr. and Mrs. Grund decided that they would take advantage of the possibilities arising from the “Velvet Revolution” in 1989. They chose the business of producing bathmats.
The first bathmats were made in the family home using borrowed machinery, and the whole family was involved in the manufacturing process at that time. Later the production expanded into their mountain cottage and the Grund Company employed 12 workers. In 1992 the new factory was built and opened with a staff of 50. The year 1993 was symbolic for the first appearance of the Grund Company at the Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, and the Grund Company has been a regular participant ever since.
In the following years the Grund Company expanded into European Union countries through its own sales representatives. The factory complex also grew and modern equipment increased the production capacity. Today the company employs more than 220 people, and is exporting to more than 40 countries worldwide.
The Grund Company also has its own design studio with designers from the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Italy. The designs of the new creations keep up with current trends of the textile industry. Designers are creating new ideas which undergo a long process of testing and trials before they appear in the new catalogue and are introduced to the customers.
The manufacture, quality, design, and presentation all meet high standards which give the Grund Company the prestigious reputation and respect not only at home but also in the countries of the European Union.
Partners
Contact
info@designcabinet.cz
zizkova@designcabinet.cz
Design Cabinet CZ
Nadace pro rozvoj architektury a stavitelství
Václavské náměstí 31
110 00 Praha 1
Česká republika