Alape
Germany

The rooms in the “Malat” boutique hotel are outfitted with elegant bathroom furnishings courtesy of Alape.

Refinements wherever you look: What caught the eye at Milan’s Salone Internazionale del Bagno.

Danish design has a contemporary look to it, despite many of the ideas being over 50 years old. At Copenhagen’s “3daysofdesign” there was much talk of tradition and values, and of updating classics.

The ISH is the world’s leading trade-fair for innovative bath design. Wellness, hygiene and health are the elements from which the physical experience in bathrooms of today are formed.

Florian Kallus of young designer duo Kaschkasch shared his impressions at the ISH with Stylepark‘s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. An unadulterated look at water basins, pipes and open fuse boxes.

At the ISH trade fair in Frankfurt new bath designs, smart technologies and energy-efficient building technologies will all be on show. We’ve brought together the most important information on the fair for you.

The noticeable trend at the ISH 2013: Under the sign of the transformation of the energy sector in Germany, technology is once again taking front seat, and not just in the energy sector, but in the bathroom, too. Yet there are various new designs all the same. And alongside wellness, the sector is also busy discovering health.

There is a camel here, a small monkey there. And which soap adorns the latest washstands? Some presentations at this year's ISH were real eye-catchers, others simply a bit drab. But all were careful arrangements.

On a large plot of land dominated by pine trees in the south of Berlin there is a small wooden house modeled on an old wooden summer house and designed by the Leipzig architects Atelier St.

Be it outside in the balmy summer air under the large "table" outside the Schirn, or inside enjoying a coffee at one of the small tables with the latest chair designs by Nitzan Cohen and Stefan Diez, or even at the terrazzo bar, or having a meal in a large group, like knights - at the large round table beneath the massive canopy. "Table" offers it all.

While it was quite by chance that Haruki Murakami came upon the 100% perfect girl one morning, finding the perfect café in Frankfurt will soon be a reality. This is because very shortly, the café at the Schirn Kunsthalle will shine out in new splendour - and boast a completely new hospitality concept.

At this year's ISH, the "World's Leading Trade Fair for the Bathroom Experience, Building, Energy, Bathroom, Air-Conditioning Technology and Renewable Energies" in Frankfurt the economic crisis did not take centre stage. Visitor and exhibitor numbers almost matched those of the previous year and an upbeat outlook was palpable - almost defying the crisis, as it were.

There are any number of trends, but only one can lead the way: The bathroom is expanding and merging with the bedroom to form one large area of relaxation and recovery. This, however, is no easy design task to be accomplished.

The company Alape was set up more than a hundred years ago by Adolf Lamprecht. Located in Penig, Saxony it initially made enamel products before gradually shifting its focus to the bathroom. Production concentrated on sinks and bathroom furniture, and over the years a close cooperation with designers and architects evolved.