Kohler Monocle
Tap in to innovation
Dimensions of wellbeing
Why do designers design? For Lun Cheak Tan, Kohler’s vice-president of industrial design, it’s always been about people and making them feel better. “When we say that the person is at the core of design – we don’t just mean the physical self,” says Tan, who is responsible for overseeing the brand’s bathroom and kitchen products, which are found in the homes, offices, hotels and restaurants of the discerning across the globe.
His work for Kohler includes intelligent toilets and touchless taps – beautiful and smart products that provide for the physical as well as the mental and spiritual wellbeing of the people using them. “It’s an approach that Kohler has taken since the day we came up with the bathtub,” says Tan. And it’s this ethos – the Dimensions of Wellbeing – that the firm celebrates as its Perspective of the Year for 2020. “We chose the word ‘dimensions’ because there are so many layers to it.
This includes – at the most basic level – meeting essential health needs by choosing materials and finishes that are anti-bacterial and stay clean longer. It’s about using clean lines and forms to reduce the spread of germs too. But it goes further: every interaction we have with an object can influence our mood and state of mind, and therefore our mental and spiritual health. Via innovations such as daylight-sensitive lighting and self-flushing toilets, Kohler’s designers “choreograph our movements and tasks in a more beautiful way,” says Tan.
These new products, along with its design hub Studio Kohler (a digital platform for the design community) are part of the company’s goal to elevate daily life by easing burdens and streamlining tasks. The effect makes for a simpler, gentler, and – as Tan puts it – “more gracious life”.
Perspective of the Year
Kohler’s globally minded and carefully designed kitchen, bathroom and hospitality products have long helped to make our homes and offices comfortable, meaningful and healthful. So what has helped it to stay on top of its game for the past 146 years? A determination to innovate. The Perspective of the Year programme is key to this. It outlines a vision for its designers and provides inspiration for the architecture and design community too. Also, it offers a framework for creatives to explore how considered products can fit into a broader creative vision. This year’s focus on wellbeing will help hygiene and health meet stunning and thoughtful design.
New confidence
The bidet: utilitarian or luxurious? How about both. Kohler’s streamlined finish will fit in to any bathroom design scheme.
Bidet seat:
Cleanliness that inspires confidence, thanks to a built-in bidet wand and easy-to-use remote.
Personalised experience
Smart tech is different to high-tech – and Kohler’s intelligent toilet shows that smart tech is meaningful and thoughtful as opposed to gimmicky. Allowing for personalised control, it has touchless open and close functions, an integrated bidet and a heated seat to elevate your bathroom experience. It’s designed to be hygienic and relaxing to boot.
Intelligent toilets:
With water-saving technology, they’re good for you and the planet too.
Reassuring presence
Finishes in our bathrooms and projects need to be easy to keep clean and look good too. Kohler’s Matte Black surface ticks both boxes: note how the softly textured material brings a sense of calm and cleanliness to a space.
Matte black:
A visual punctuation mark to create an elegant structure and order.
Clean machine
Get dirty – with some fresh garden produce of course – without getting your kitchen dirty. Kohler’s touchless faucets cut down on cleaning and contact; they’re great for the bathroom too.
Sensate touchless:
A versatile faucet that brings peace of mind.
Learn more about KOHLER’s Perspective of the Year here.
