LIXIL, maker of water and housing products, through its GROHE power brand, was pleased to support the World Architecture Festival 2023 (WAF) for its sixteenth edition at the iconic Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. The WAF is the largest global gathering of the industry’s leading architects and designers (A&D), thought leadership and celebration of their prestigious achievements.
WAF also represented a global platform for branding, business networking and opportunities. Nearly 2,000 delegates attended the WAF and INSIDE events and over 800 entries vied for coveted awards across different categories. Out of the 55 category and special award winners, 24 were from Asia and Australasia, led by Australia (10), China (6), and equivalently placed Thailand, India and Japan (2 each).
This year’s festival theme ‘Catalyst’ marked WAF’s return to Asia, after a hiatus of almost a decade. The theme explored how architecture and design can be catalysts for beneficial change through enabling, accelerating and inspiring interaction across the entire built environment, to benefit both individuals and institutions. The global A&D community gathered to advance this theme through various WAF keynotes, speakers, and conversations to catalyze ideas and opportunities.
GROHE, a global brand for complete bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings, has supported WAF since the inception of the festival in 2008. As WAF Founding Partner, GROHE represents the unique role water plays in the design discipline and helps shape innovative architectural visions and solutions around the element of water.
GROHE affirmed this commitment with the sponsorship and awarding of the GROHE Water Prize at WAF to UArchitects. The winning proposal calls for the scaling up of ‘micro-colonies’ comprised of floating platforms in Bangladesh. The connected platforms allow for the growing of food, with a community hub created to provide services (such as education and storage) to clusters of family homes.
Clean water production is of great importance for these micro-colonies, which are intended to cope with extreme weather events, combat poverty and provide a new model of how communities can address the challenges of climate change. This is the fifth time the GROHE Water Prize has been awarded, with past winners across water filtration, generation and cooling systems in Peru, Brazil and Greece.
Satoshi Konagai, Leader, LIXIL Water Technology, Asia Pacific, expressed, “Through our GROHE power brand, we are proud to be the Founding Partner of the World Architecture Festival since its 2008 inception. Over the past sixteen years, we have worked together to grow WAF into a respected global platform that attracts thousands of delegates to celebrate excellence, network and explore business opportunities over the course of the festival. We are delighted to congratulate the WAF award winners, the GROHE Water Prize winner and WAF shortlist candidates. LIXIL will continue to engage the A&D community to uplift industry excellence and address challenges, including macrotrends across health and wellbeing, sustainability and urbanisation.”
“This year’s festival is especially meaningful as we are concurrently launching GROHE SPA for the Asia Pacific region. First launched at this year’s Milan Design Week, we are excited to bring GROHE SPA’s specially curated collections that can create versatile combinations for a multi-sensory, personalised showering experience. We look forward to collaborating with discerning homeowners and industry partners on unique GROHE SPA projects across the region.” Mr. Konagai added.
Paul Finch, Programme Director, WAF, said, “Congratulations to all the WAF and INSIDE award winners and shortlist candidates. Their ideas and projects are a beacon for how design can be a multi-faceted catalyst for positive change. Our return to Asia is immensely gratifying to ignite fresh ideas and relationships in and around the A&D community. We greatly appreciate the support and encouragement from GROHE, our sponsors, partners, delegates and the global A&D community.”
Ahead of the WAF main event in Singapore, the GROHE and WAF teams worked closely to strengthen industry engagement through a series of special pre-WAF events and receptions held in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines that was enthusiastically received by the A&D community and media in each country.
Satoshi Konagai, Leader of LIXIL Water Technologies in the APAC region, shares insights regarding LIXIL’s strategic approach to delivering diverse yet consumer-centric designs that captivate while paving the way for future innovation.
The Asia Pacific region holds significant importance in the realm of water technology, especially in post-pandemic times when hygiene and cleanliness at home are increasingly valued. LIXIL, a leading company in this sector, recognises the region’s demand for innovative bathroom and kitchen solutions that fill various needs. Here’s how the brand is spearheading the development of its water technology business in the Asian Pacific region by focusing on delivering high-quality products that are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing. Discover how LIXIL’s unwavering focus drives its design prowess and fuels a transformative wave in the world of water technology.
Q: What is the role of LIXIL’s water technology business in the company’s overall mission, and why is the Asia Pacific region significant to this?
A: LIXIL is a purpose-driven company that is committed to making better homes a reality for everyone, everywhere. We make pioneering water and housing products and solutions that solve everyday, real-life challenges that touch the lives of over one billion people across the world. Our water technology business makes up about 60 percent of LIXIL’s nearly US$12 billion global revenue. Consumers trust in our brands and solutions to create better homes, bathrooms and kitchens. Through our focus on consumer-centric design, quality and innovation, we have developed numerous industry-leading products and technologies that deliver an exceptional consumer experience with superior hygiene and comfort.
Q: How important is the APAC region to LIXIL’s water technology business, and what unique challenges and opportunities does it present?
A: LIXIL has a presence across the Asia Pacific region, which is an important market for us. The solid regional fundamentals with thriving economies, growing consumer spending and rapid urbanisation is driving demand for bathroom and kitchen solutions that suit local preferences and lifestyles. LIXIL meets these diverse consumer needs through a multi-brand, multi-category portfolio approach with our power brands, American Standard, GROHE and INAX.
For example, our American Standard brand appeals to first-time homeowners, young families and growing households looking for dependable, well-designed products. With complete bathroom solutions in modern aesthetics, our designer and architect business partners can plan in confidence for their projects.
On the other hand, we note a growing trend for personal wellness – physical and mental –which has become much more important after the pandemic. Consumers are increasingly looking to transform their bathrooms from a functional area into relaxation or wellness spaces, where they can retreat to relax, rejuvenate or recharge from their busy lives.
To meet this need, we have developed the GROHE SPA sub-brand, as a premium solution that transforms the bathroom into an oasis of well-being. With modular configurations and personalised shower settings, GROHE SPA offers consumers unique flexibility and freedom to create their own showering experience. This new water experience encompasses all the senses: from calming sounds with different water volumes and spray types, to visual beauty with carefully selected colours and finishes, providing unique tactile experiences with different materials, activating their sense of smell with relaxing and healing scents of essential oils.
By engaging all five senses, GROHE SPA products promote holistic well-being and enable consumers to create their own personalised home oasis for relaxation and rejuvenation. We plan to officially launch GROHE SPA in the region towards end-2023.
Q: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the demand for water technology products and services in APAC? How is LIXIL adapting to meet these changing needs?
A: The pandemic has had a mixed impact on the demand for bathroom and kitchen products and services in the Asia Pacific region. While the pandemic has led to a temporary slowdown in some sectors, such as property development and hospitality, it has also led to an increased demand for products that prioritise hygiene and safety at critical touchpoints in the home, office and in public.
LIXIL has responded by developing new products and technologies that focus on hygiene and safety such as touchless faucets and soap dispensers, as well as smart toilets with automatic cleaning, disinfection functions and anti-bacterial technologies.
For example, to ensure hygiene and sanitation in public places, our American Standard HygieneCleanTM system includes innovations such Double VortexTM flushing design for efficient flushing while conserving water, Aqua CeramicTM anti-stain technology and ComfortCleanTM antibacterial technology.
Q: Can you discuss any new products or technologies that LIXIL is currently developing or plans to release in the near future?
A: In our consumer-centric observation and research, we note that the bathroom and kitchen industry in the region is recovering, driven not only by economic recovery but also by consumer needs, which are shifting along three macro trends:
The first trend is around health and well-being, where consumers are spending more time at home. More attention to physical and mental health and well-being. They increasingly view the bathroom as a spa or wellness area. Secondly, sustainability has become a key word for our industry, especially for the hospitality segment. Consumers are demanding brands and products that help the planet without compromising the customer experience. Finally, we observe that rapid urbanisation is placing pressure on transforming the one-function room into a multi-functional living space. This creates an urgent need to reimagine and plan innovative solutions for better homes.
These macro trends are influencing consumers to seek out fittings and fixtures that act as smart, intuitive helpers that simplify everyday routines – as the borders of the bathroom and bedroom, as well as the kitchen and living room, are dissolving. We have the responsibility to offer bathroom solutions with our industry partners that address these macro trends that influence consumer needs and contribute to improving property value.
In addition to the GROHE Spa regional launch, we also have an active pipeline of new products for 2023, including the new American Standard LOVEN collection, which is a complete bathroom solution designed with full-sized features in a compact footprint. It is very suitable for urban apartments and condominiums.
Q: How does LIXIL ensure that its products are both high-quality and affordable for APAC consumers?
A: The LIXIL brand portfolio includes American Standard, GROHE and INAX with a range of products and solutions from entry-level to luxury offerings. We strive to make our products and solutions accessible to as many consumers as possible
Drawing on our Japanese heritage, we practise the Japanese manufacturing principle of Monozukuri – this focuses on manufacturing excellence and quality. We have also invested in a global manufacturing network and a resilient supply chain, including plants located in Asia Pacific.
This setup helps us respond effectively to changes in consumer demand, provide dependable aftersales support and spare parts availability. These important investments are to provide consumers and our industry partners with the assurance of high-quality products and solutions that are durable, dependable and contribute to improving property value.
Q: How important is collaboration with others in the water technology space? How does LIXIL approach partnerships and collaborations?
A: Partnerships and collaborations are important ways for LIXIL and our partners to address industry-wide and increasingly global issues around hygiene, sanitation and clean water.
In March this year, we updated our environmental strategy that outlines how LIXIL will tackle key environmental issues – climate change mitigation and adaptation, water sustainability, and contributing to the realisation of a circular economy.
With the updated Environment Strategy, we want to reduce our CO2 targets by evaluating our total emissions, including Scope 1, 2, and 3, protect water – one of the most precious resources – and focus on circular solutions that can have a positive impact on our planet; aiming at waste reduction from our facilities, resource efficiency, circularity throughout our products along the value chain.
We see like-minded industry partners, governments and NGOs pursuing some or all of the same goals. This creates mutual understanding and fertile ground for partnerships and collaborations to happen with different stakeholders.
A recent example is where LIXIL, together with many other government organisations, manufacturers, and civil society partners such as World Health Organization and the International Water Association, founded “A Global Pledge to Protect Drinking Water from Lead” at the UN 2023 Water Conference. In this movement, LIXIL works collaboratively with our partners to protect public health and safety and reduce lead exposure from drinking water and achieve lead-free drinking water by 2040.
In addition to addressing social and environmental issues, we also collaborate with other brands to improve the design of products for our customers. GROHE SPA recently partnered with Caesarstone, a global company known for producing high-end engineered surfaces, to create faucet handles with their durable quartz designs, offering a curated range of customised options for architects and designers. The Atrio and Allure Brilliant Private Collections can be paired with Caesarstone countertops for a cohesive bathroom design.
Q: What is LIXIL’s vision for the future of water technology, and how does your team plan to stay at the forefront of innovation in this space?
A: As the three macro trends continue to impact our industry, we will need to develop new solutions backed by innovations to address issues that impact end-consumers and our industry partners. We continue to focus on being consumer-centric to better meet consumers’ diverse needs.
We consciously embed consumer-centric thinking in our research, design and manufacturing processes to meet the diverse needs of consumers across all markets. Applying this approach throughout our business creates relevant, purpose-driven products and we are excited to develop solutions that improve the quality of life and solve real-life challenges faced by consumers in their daily lives.
About Satoshi Konagai
Satoshi Konagai is the Leader for LIXIL Water Technology (LWT) Asia Pacific. He is responsible for leading, developing, and accelerating LIXIL’s water technology business across Asia Pacific, a region poised as LIXIL’s future growth engine.
Satoshi joined LIXIL in 2016 where he was instrumental in establishing Asia Regional Logistics, and developing warehouse functions to build the foundation of operations in the company. He also led end-to-end supply chain initiatives such as manufacturing relocation and synergy creation value chain development. Apart from this, he also supported the Asia CEO to drive strategic initiatives across markets.
Satoshi has skilfully unleashed synergies in LIXIL by removing structural barriers and bringing together businesses and people around a common purpose to further accelerate LIXIL’s growth. He has worked with over 200 members across regions to establish synergy functions and also streamlined operations under Monozukuri.
With over two decades of consulting and management experience in multinational organisations, Satoshi held senior positions at BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP (BCG) and UBS Securities Japan, Investment Banking Division. He has a master’s degree from IMD Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Keio University.
LIXIL, maker of pioneering water and housing products, recently announced that Antoine Besseyre des Horts, Leader of LIXIL Global Design, Asia, has been recognized as a recipient of the A&D 40 under 40 2021 Awards.
The A&D awards are a benchmark for excellence in architecture and interior design within Greater China and beyond. The awards also recognize and celebrate some of the most innovative and efficient projects by both local and overseas practices. Launched in 2006, the A&D 40 under 40 Awards is Asia’s leading architecture and interior design award and recognizes and champions forty of the most talented young professionals in the fields of architecture, interior and product design.
An award-winning designer with a holistic approach to design, Antoine Besseyre des Horts leads an international team at LIXIL, providing creative direction to translate LIXIL’s portfolio brands American Standard, GROHE, and INAX brand strategies into culturally relevant consumer experiences for the Asia Pacific and Greater China markets.
“As one of Asia’s leading architecture and interior design awards, it is an honour to be awarded the 40 under 40 Awards by A&D. This award is a true recognition of my commitment to adding value to society through the creation of solutions that truly enhance people’s daily lives and to providing inspiration to the designers I mentor and interact with,” said Antoine Besseyre des Horts, Leader of LIXIL Global Design, Asia.
Putting users at the heart of the business, LIXIL has undergone a design-led transformation to adopt a consumer-centric design approach. At the core of LIXIL’s design philosophy is solving real-life challenges with world-leading technology and innovation. Antoine Besseyre des Horts has worked on several key projects for LIXIL’s portfolio brands, combining user-centric design with an entrepreneurial, co-creative mindset to deliver life-enhancing experiences for users.
As an award-winning designer, the products Antoine Besseyre des Horts designed across different categories and brands have been recognized globally and received over 75 design awards from some of the most prestigious competitions such as Red Dot Design Award, iF Design Award, Good Design Award (Japan), The Good Design Awards (USA), Interior Innovation Award, Iconic Awards, and Design for Asia Awards.
What a fulfilling 2019 it has been for the design community! We saw the sixth edition of the Singapore Design Week, which incorporated over 80 programmes and more than 70 partners. We also witnessed the Singapore Design Award’s (SDA) 30th anniversary, honouring outstanding designers from across the world and maintaining its position as the leading design award in Southeast Asia.
As
we approach the end of this meaningful year, we raise our heads and look to
welcome the year of 2020. Design is subjective and its trends are
ever-evolving. Thus, it is important for us to spot these trends and stay ahead
of our game. The bathroom is a crucial place in the home to analyse, as modern
homes are beginning to place a huge emphasis on the quality of bathrooms. The better
the design of the bathroom, the better the design of the home as a whole.
Below,
we identify the upcoming design trends in the bathroom, as well as emerging
elements such as technology and innovation as part of design:
The bathroom is one more area of the home where traditional boundaries are dissolving
This makes it a part of the home living space. Just as kitchens have merged with the living rooms to create a new social space, so has bathrooms co-joined with bedrooms to offer a private retreat. This requires more attention to be paid to the design, so that the lighting, colours and materials chosen reflect the room’s changing status.
These spaces are essential to the modern consumer today and must not only be functional, it has to cater to individual style and preference as well. With urbanisation, space is becoming scarce and while many people still want a bathtub so they can luxuriate uninterrupted in a long, hot soak, they typically have it only if space permits.
There’s no doubting the allure of a Japanese, hot spring-inspired soak in a bathtub such as one from the INAX S600 LINE. But that’s not the only way to enjoy a restorative hydrotherapy session at home, now that spa experiences are also built into showers.
Digital solutions create a more sensory experience
It also allows for the customisation of functions for a personalised touch. High-tech faucets, smart toilets and 3D metal-printed fixtures are just a handful of examples. The new GROHE Euphoria SmartControl shower system allows consumers to tailor their own experiences at the touch of a button.
Depending on your mood, or time of the day, you can choose a powerful, invigorating spray for an energising start to the morning, or unwind with a relaxing, ‘soft as summer rain’ spray in the evening. The technology ensures that the water temperature too, stays precisely as you like it.
To achieve the desired relaxing ambience and to cater to an increasing need for more convenience and comfort in the bathroom, everything within the space should be intuitive and easy to use. Consumers do not want to have to fiddle with different controls.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is something to keep an eye out for in 2020
It is where consumers link living equipment and sensors to provide themselves with convenience and security. Some advantages of utilising IoT is to visualise energy and water usage, obtain notification of accidents in the bathroom and autonomous control over windows and lightings.
The future smart home will contain several IoT appliances, all detecting human’s behavior and intention. In the case of LIXIL, the GROHE Sense Guard will immediately shut off the household’s water supply whenever a burst pipe or flooded cellar is detected.
Determining the right choice and combination of colours is paramount
In terms of colour choice, white is clean, minimal and timeless, but with comfort, an overarching design goal of bathroom design. New textures are creeping in, such as woodgrain or even authentic wood finishes and earthy tones that are best applied on vanities, fittings and ceramics.
These can add warmth and softness to the necessary hard elements like tiles and tapware. Speaking of which, more and more people are beginning to appreciate tapware with sophisticated colours, finishes and textures, enabling the homeowner to craft a unique statement in their private bathing retreat.
Technology in the bathroom is the key to
hygiene
Aside from smart solutions, bathrooms are beginning to integrate advanced fundamental solutions such as flushing technologies, antibacterial technologies, etc. The bathroom may be a retreat for homeowners, but it is also the space where most bacteria are found.
To keep our bathrooms safe, clean and hygienic, it is key for manufacturers to commit and invest resources in innovative hygiene technology for the health of its consumers. American Standard does so by having its HygieneClean System – the new standard of safety in the bathroom, delivered by its powerful flushing technologies plus cutting-edge innovations of Aqua Ceramic and ComfortClean.
Aqua Ceramic is a super-hydrophillic technology which prevents dirt and stains from sticking to ceramic surfaces while ComfortClean involves a revolutionary ceramic glaze of zinc oxide which effectively kills bacteria in the toilet bowl. This is the wonder of technology in the bathroom.
By Antoine Besseyre des Horts, Vice President of Design at LIXIL Water Technology Asia
LIXIL, a maker of pioneering water and housing products, has appointed the Grande Centre Point Sukhumvit 55 in Bangkok, designed by Mr. Thanawat Sukhaggananda, as the Grand Winner of the DREAM SPALET DESTINATION COMPETITION.
The competition recognises architects and designers who utilised the SPALET – a bidet that merges together the Zen-like SPA experience with the functionalities of a western toilet – in their hospitality projects.
Mr. Thanawat Sukhaggananda, interior designer at the Interior Vision Company Limited, won the first prize for his bathroom design at the Grande Centre Point Sukhumvit 55 in Bangkok. Known as Thailand’s largest Onsen hotel, the pure indulgence at the spa extends to the bathrooms of the hotel rooms and suites.
Inspired by Buddhist philosophy, the restrooms feature American Standard’s Eurozen shower toilet, offering guests a complete personal cleansing experience with spa-like features, much like a personal sanctuary. The experience is not only pleasant for its users, but also for the environment, as the Eurozen’s automatic flushing function can detect the type of flush needed based on the time spent on the toilet, helping save water and reducing the use of tissue paper.
The winner was announced at the gala night of the first-ever LIXIL SPALET ICONIC TOUR, an exclusive gathering of top architects and designers, including the five finalists of the contest, that took place in Nagoya, Japan.
For two days, guests immersed in the world of SPALET in an exclusive itinerary that included a visit to the LIXIL showroom and a stopover at the INAX Museum, where visitors learned about INAX’s unique history as the pioneering brand in SPALET technology.
LIXIL hosted the tour and launched the competition to help more architects and designers derive inspiration on how the SPALET offers limitless possibilities to enrich their hospitality projects in the region.
“This award has encouraged me to develop and take my artwork design to greater heights, I am extremely delighted that the committee has selected my project,” shared the winner of the DREAM SPALET DESTINATION COMPETITION, Mr. Thanawat Sukhaggananda. “My intention was to create an outstanding experience for the users, including comfort, sanitation and water conservation. Today, toilets are not used for cleaning purposes only, water also provides relaxation and freshness, so I thought the SPALET was the most suitable choice for the new standards in the region.”
Mr. Sitthirat Watcharaporn, General Manager of LIXIL Water Technology added: “SPALET products have been designed with full functionalities of automated fixtures to enable users to have a luxury spa experience. The product perfectly responds to the needs of all users, in terms of comfort, ease of use, and cutting edge technologies.
By introducing the SPALET to more architects and designers and showcasing hospitality projects that made full use of them, LIXIL believes that architects and designers will appreciate how limitless design possibilities are so that more lives stand to be benefited, not just in terms of personal hygiene, but more importantly, for our over-all well-being.”
