How can new technologies change, enrich or even replace the encounter with the element of water? This was the question addressed by the first Dornbracht Research Lab, which kicked off during the Salone del Mobile in Milan 2019 (April 9-14). The new experimental format, initiated by Mike Meiré, is dedicated to questions that contribute to the brand's long-term vision: to create water experiences that move people on an elemental level.

"Hyper fountain," a virtual reality-based installation, is the focus of the first Lab project. With the help of VR goggles, visitors can immerse themselves in a world of hyperreality, where they experience space, matter, and, in particular, the element of water in an unprecedented way. In reality, a makeshift construction consisting of a simple plastic bucket and a hose appears in the virtual world as a futuristic and sophisticated computer-generated scenery. The bucket transforms into a marble basin, the hose into a Dornbracht Supernova fitting. All materials © by their respective owners.

My part was the the development of the strategic outline and the concept of the Dornbracht Research Lab with its VR centerpiece "Hyper Fountain".

Together with Meiré und Meiré, Elastique