stefan diez creates dismantlable, recyclable bathtub for kaldewei at ISH 2023

Organic wellness sculpture: For the third part of Architonic’s ISH 2023 new product preview, we climb into a bathtub designed by Diez Office for KALDEWEI that combines pure bathing pleasure with a compact shape and recyclable material use.

Organic Wellness Structure, ISH 2023 © KALDEWEI

Let’s be honest: Even the best bathtub at some point eventually has its day – and that includes those from steel enamel specialist KALDEWEI. But by the time it does, it will have provided countless relaxing baths over decades. When it comes to a long service life, it’s not only high-quality materials and workmanship that prove decisive, however, the design itself also plays a key role.

With the Meisterstück OYO DUO, Munich-based Diez Office has designed a bathtub for the German family business that aims to do more than just outlast short-lived trends. Designer Stefan Diez and his team have once again succeeded in factoring in what comes after. And this is how: as a free-standing bathtub with a self-supporting double-walled structure, it does without a substructure (usually made of polystyrene) and facing per se. As a result, the bathtub and installation accessories can later be completely dismantled into just a a few components and returned to the material cycle so new steel enamel bathtubs can be created from old ones. In addition, the oval volume is designed for maximum comfort (even for two), has a reasonable level of water consumption and is available in two sizes.

Organic Wellness Structure, ISH 2023 © KALDEWEI

The fact that KALDEWEI is resolutely committed to the themes of circularity and climate protection can also be seen in the company’s first sustainability report. In it, Franz Kaldewei, fourth-generation CEO, emphasizes: ‘Sustainable developments begin with design and the choice of materials. Because this is where it is decided how recyclable a product is at the end of its life cycle’ – and also how CO2-intensive! And because we know that the production of steel enamel is energy-intensive, another of Kaldewei’s innovations is interesting: since the end of 2021, the company has been offering a selection of products in its Nature Protect edition. By using CO2-reduced steel, the footprint for the end product can thus be reduced by almost 70%.