Articles de Simon Keane-Cowell

As sound management secures its stake at the top table of planning issues, German-based manufacturer ACOUSTICPEARLS shows how interior architecture can – and should – work for the ears as well as the eyes.

If anyone knows water, Grohe does. In spite of having clocked up over 100 years in business, the world’s leading provider of premium sanitary fittings is squarely looking to the future, with technology, innovation and sustainability its constant

When the architects of a new big-league conference centre in Algiers needed an acoustics partner, they turned to premium Italian manufacturer FANTONI.

Armed with insight and aesthetic sensibility, the German manufacturer ACOUSTICPEARLS has been fighting for almost 10 years against the noise pollution of interior spaces. Their weapons: premium acoustic panel systems that are as beautiful as they are

Coffee is big business – both in economic and cultural terms. With the brewed bean enjoying a major connoisseurial renaissance, luxury home-appliances brand GAGGENAU has brought the outside in with their fully automatic, professional-standard

FRANKE – the leading kitchen brand with a whole lot of Swiss heritage – knows how to multitask. Its new Chef Center transforms the traditional sink into the ultimate in operational and entertaining hubs, perfect for open-plan living.

Known for its innovative industrial-production processes, premium Italian furniture manufacturer PEDRALI delivered a command performance at this year's Milan Furniture Fair.

Since its launch five years ago, Croatian design brand Prostoria has not only developed an impressive collection of considered furniture designs, it has set out to design the very platform on which the Croatian design industry can connect.

If there's one manufacturer that truly understands wood, it's long-established Czech brand TON. Their steam-bending expertise and passionate craftsmanship lives in the very grain of classic and contemporary furniture designs alike.

Swiss premium bathroom brand TALSEE has established itself as the go-to solutions-provider for exacting architects.

Premium German manufacturer ALAPE, with its innovative approach to design and technology, has been shaping the experience of water in the bathroom since 1896.

The past meets the present in leading Italian porcelain-tile manufacturer FAP CERAMICHE’s new Roma collection, which marries classical design elegance with contemporary technology.

It's often said that good design is legible design – objects that communicate their use and their usefulness. In the case of premium woodburning-stove manufacturer HARRIE LEENDERS, there's a compelling story behind many of the products, too.

Materials are anything but immaterial to KARPENTER – the Indonesian-based design brand that in the few short years since its launch has managed to claim a convincing stake at the table of manufacturers who truly understand the critical relation

When premium kitchen brand FRANKE KITCHEN SYSTEMS decided to develop Frames by Franke, the market’s first-ever total product line, they didn’t skimp on quality or performance. Things are definitely cooking.

All good things come to those who wait. Design legend Ettore Sottsass may have left us, but, thanks to global design brand KARTELL, a completely new collection of striking accessories authored by the maestro himself is being launched this month.

When a visionary, game-changing design needs a reboot to respond to the evolving needs of the market, consideration and perfect execution are called for. Here’s the story of how ADECO’s innovative RADAR shelving system made a striking comeback.

Premium Swiss manufacturer FRANKE COFFEE SYSTEMS has been getting up at the crack of dawn for over 40 years to produce fully automatic coffee machines for an ever-growing, international customer base. The perfect blend of design, technology and

Premium Italian radiator brand TUBES, known for its collaboration with big-name designers and its striking, sculptural products, turns the heat up once again with the launch of its new ‘RIFT’ radiator, the ultimate in customisation and flexible

MDT-tex, the go-to textile-architecture manufacturer and consultancy, is invited time and time again to partner with some of the world's leading architects. It's no wonder given the company's innovative outdoor structures and intelligent membranes.

For over 20 years now, craftsmanship-led Japanese furniture manufacturer Kitani has been bringing a considered edit of mid-century Danish classics back to life, to the delight of design-lovers worldwide.

Stick a pin in the middle of a map of Switzerland and the chances are you've landed near Thun, a small town that's home to a big player in terms of materials know-how. Long-established, high-end carpenters and fitters strasserthun invite architects,

Premium Italian design brand Arper has made it its job to look at our jobs – the ongoing changes in the where and the how we work – responding with a collection of high-performance furniture designs that don't slack off in the aesthetics

Wilkhahn has always focused on durability and permanence, and its new "Graph" conference programme is very much part of this tradition. With its innovative chair and accompanying table this German furniture manufacturer is restyling corporate

With half a century of creativity and business under its belt, Italian design manufacturer Pedrali is showing little sign of easing up on the gas pedal. It's full speed ahead for the premium furniture and lighting brand whose elegant marriage of

With its recently launched rebrand, family-owned Italian bathroom brand Falper, known for its elegant, unique products, is looking sharper than ever.

What do you do if you love fire? Why, head up a fireplace manufacturer, of course. Bart Leenders, son of Harrie Leenders – founder of the eponymous Dutch woodburning-stove producer – knows a thing or two about combustion, heading off regularly

It’s no mean feat producing timeless design that’s also innovative and future-facing. One of the few brands to pull this off is Tribù, the leading outdoor-furniture label that invites its users to sit back and relax, while itself doing anything

Makro doesn’t do compromise. Its second-to-none bathroom concepts respond to the precise needs of its customers, providing the perfect solution for even the most demanding of architectural projects.

Introversion isn’t something the Greeks have much time for. Particularly when it comes to design. Informed by a culture of sociability and dialogue, a cohort of export-focused Greek design manufacturers will be showing their quality products to a

In architectural terms, given the time it takes to complete a large-scale project, ten years isn't that long. All the more remarkable therefore that Austrian manufacturer Rieder's innovative wonder material fibreC – fabricated from concrete and

There's something cooking in the kitchen and we're not talking food. It's a revolution in product design, production and consumption. Respected Italian manufacturer VALCUCINE, whose brand has long been known for its craftsmanship and research-led

We love to shop. This we know. But the way in which we purchase goods and services and the kind of brand experience we expect this to deliver is changing now more than ever. Enter the cutting-edge 'Retail of Tomorrow' total store-design and

Almost 70 years in business and forward-thinking Japanese manufacturer OKAMURA, renowned for, among other products, its super-engineered office furniture, shows no sign of taking its eye off the ball of innovation. Sit up straight, people.

'Products developed for architecture' is how Italian brand TUBES describes its striking, resolutely sculptural radiators and towel rails, designed to shape the interior landscape as well as heat it. The manufacturer's story is one of a steadfast

Icons of the design landscape, global brand KARTELL’s products – with their innovative use of plastic and their clever and expressive, often emotional, forms – have captured the imagination of design-conscious consumers around the world. The

You can never have enough of a good thing, so they say. But lovers of iconic lamps from the early 20th century were for decades deprived of the possibility of owning some of the most striking luminary pieces by the Wiener Werkstätte and the Bauhaus,

Post-crisis it’s all about winning customer loyalty through value for money and memorable service. As an hotelier, taking your guests for granted can mean the difference between repeat business and damaging online reviews. Against this backdrop,

Why do manufactured products look the way they do? Often it’s practical necessity. Sometimes it’s aesthetic tradition. In the case of sanitaryware, it’s due historically to the materials limits of Vitreous China and Fine Fire Clay. Enter

Feeling a little bit lost? It's no surprise, really. As populations grow, cities expand, international travel increases and we all work (and live) harder and faster, it seems that there are ever more new and complex terrains to navigate. Enter a