This year, for the first time, the winners of the 100% Hotel Design Awards, won more than a dynamic promotion and recognition. They also had a unique experience, which was to learn the production processes of a great Design House from within and to get involved in its everyday life. This house is none other than the high-end brand of bathroom fittings, Fantini Rubinetti, based in Lake Orta in Italy.
The winners of the competition, as well as representatives of the 100% Hotel Show, travelled to Lake Orta in Italy experiencing a special design experience, and took a tour through the house's everyday processes accompanied by Mr. Antonio Petraolo, sales manager of Fantini Rubinetti, seeing how these unique design products come to the market.
The visit in the Central Showroom of Fantini and the Lissoni Architects office in Brera.
Brera is one of Milan's most well-known areas, in which many architectural offices and design studios, as well as showrooms of some of the most important design brands, are gathered. From this point, the winners of the 100% Hotel Design Awards, started their official visit in the central showroom of the renowned house of Fantini, to discover how the audience can see the house's products more closely. Particularly impressive was the fact that this space is just a point of sampling, where the public can only get in touch with Fantini's high design objects and not make a purchase. Just one block away, Lissoni Architects studio, one of the largest Design Offices about Architecture, Design and Graphics in the world, hosted the 100% Hotel Design Awards winners, who enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of the company's representatives. Lissoni Studio employs more than 80 employees, and it was particularly impressive that their offices occupy an industrial design room and material room, turning it into a unique space that produces integrated Design at all levels. The representative of Lissoni Studio guided the team throughout the offices, explaining their design philosophy and the way of operating such a large Design Office, which hosts many different Departments.
The hospitality of the owner of the well-known house, Daniella Fantini, in the exemplary Casa Fantini Hotel.
One of the most exciting moments of the 100% Hotel Design Awards winners, was the hospitality at the Case Fantini Hotel, as well as the acquaintance with the owner of the well-known house, Daniella Fantini, who explained her company's vision and shared with them unique stories related to the development of the brand. For this experience, there could be no better setting than the Casa Fantini Hotel, since it reflects both the philosophy and the passion of Mrs. Daniela Fantini’s hospitality, while at the same time it is a live showroom of the house's products, which the visitor can use in practice. Staying at Casa Fantini resembles the experience of an actual home, with special design and personalized service, making guests forget that they are in a hotel room and transferring them to the "Lake Time" dimension, which is also the moto of the hotel. It is noteworthy that the Casa Fantini bathroom area is a case study, where the visitor can see smart solutions that enhance his experience, such as the high-tech steam bath design, while the details -such as bathroom batteries and metal fittings- that the products of Fantini offer, underline the luxury of the accommodation.
Touring the unique design factory of Fantini Rubinetti and monitoring the overall production process.
The act of experiencing the production process of such an important Design House from the beginning, is undoubtedly a unique source of inspiration. The tour of Fantini's production units was a surprise to the 100% Hotel Design Awards winners, as they had the opportunity to see the steps taken to create a unique design product, but also the chance to get in touch with the people who are at all stages of production. From all the different steps, the most impressive was the visit to the -uniquely designed- final production unit, designed by Pierro Lissoni, which constitutes a real jewel on Lake Orta. In this area, which is also where the company’s offices and showroom are, the final screening and storage of Fantini's products takes place and some of the world's most famous designers host their products. At this point, the Greek mission had the opportunity to learn the story behind each design and important facts about Fantini's course, while watching the management team in action in its everyday life.
Guided tour to the unique beauty of Lake Orta and the homonymous settlement, as well as of Isola San Giulio.
The trip organized by Fantini for the winners of the 100% Hotel Design Awards was completed in the best way, after having had the chance to get to know the wider area as well. The team travelled to the small island in the centre of Lake Orta, Isola San Giulio, learning its special history and exploring the unique beauty of its architecture while visiting the homonymous village of Orta, which is a tourist resort, especially in the summer months.
