January 25, 2012

The Good Design design awards were recently presented by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Best, Zephyr and Hastings Tile & Bath for Vola were among the honorees.

The Good Design awards are presented annually to products that exhibit high design aesthetics and innovation. Winning manufacturers are those that stretch the envelope beyond what is considered ordinary product and consumer design.

Best’s Vertigo Double range hood (pictured) was chosen as a winner in the “Kitchen/Appliances” category and was selected from several thousand manufacturers from more than 50 countries. The Vertigo Double range hood is part of the Italian-inspired Sorpresa collection. Sorpresa, which means “surprise” in Italian, takes on shapes and styles that are designed to become the focal point of the kitchen, while still providing ventilation technology and functionality.

Zephyr’s Next Generation Europa collection with the DCBL suppression system was also a winner in the “Kitchen/Appliances” category. “We are thrilled to have been recognized by this esteemed organization,” said Arcadio Lainez, director of marketing for Zephyr. “For Zephyr, the Good Design award validates the work we put into the redesign of our core Europa collection. We don’t take anything for granted and when we began developing the DCBL technology our primary goal was to raise the bar we had set for ourselves – we really feel the range hood is the heart of the kitchen, and it’s very gratifying to see the response these products are receiving now that they are out in the world.”

Vola, imported and distributed in North America through Hastings Tile & Bath dealers received an award for “Bath and Accessories.” The company’s round series waste bin, inspired by the iconic work of Arne Jacobsen, uses a basic circle as a design element and transforms it into a futuristic and convenient waste bin that is built directly into the wall.