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Duravit Appliances Part of Cellophane House in The Museum of Modern Art’s Home Delivery Exhibition

Pieces from Starck 2 and Vero Collections Selected to Outfit Bathrooms of KieranTimberlake Associates’ Cellophane House

New York – Duravit, a leading manufacturer of complete bathroom solutions with a wide choice of mainly contemporary ceramic sanitaryware, bathroom furniture, accessories, bath tubs, shower trays and wellbeing systems, is outfitting the Cellophane House, which is a project included in Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling, an exhibition organized by The Museum of Modern Art that offers the most thorough examination to date of both the historic and contemporary significance of factory-produced architecture from 1833 to today. Two lavatories from the Vero collection and two Philippe Starck-designed toilets and accessories will be included in Cellophane House, designed for the exhibition by KieranTimberlake Associates. Home Delivery will be on view from July 20 through October 20, 2008.

As implied by its name, Cellophane House is made of transparent and translucent materials, held in place with an aluminium structural frame. An exception will be the house’s two “bathroom pods.” “The project strips the house down to the bare essentials. Though the bathroom pods are not translucent, the bathroom fixtures allow us to carry through our design sensibility by using clean and modern elements,” said David Riz, Associate in Charge from KieranTimberlake Associates.

The classic, rectangular silhouette of the Vero washbasin makes it a favorite among lovers of design and architecture Two washbasins from this collection will be included in Cellophane House—a 800 cm model and a
500 cm model. Matching under lavatory towel rails will be included with the 800 cm washbasin.

The renowned architect and designer Philippe Starck favors this same aesthetic, unfettered by superfluous ornament, in his Starck 2 wallmounted toilet designs. Designed as part of his second collection for Duravit, two units will be included in this project, along with Geberit carriers and actuators.

“Duravit is known for its successful partnerships with some of the world’s most accomplished architects and designers, including Philippe Starck, Sir Norman Foster, and Sieger Design, among many others. We are proud to add KieranTimberlake Associates to our family of collaborators,” said Timothy Schroeder, President, Duravit USA.

The long history of prefabricated housing is presented in a gallery exhibition of some 60 projects represented by drawings, ephemera, models, photographs, and partially assembled full-scale houses, as well as four new commissions of fragments of walls that could potentially be used in designing prefabricated buildings, and a rich documentation of the history of prefabrication through materials as diverse as patent applications and film. In the outdoor space to the west of the Museum, five contemporary architects have been invited by MoMA to display full-scale, prefabricated houses which attest to the popularity and innovation of prefabricated houses today. The exhibition is on view July 20 through October 20, 2008, and is organized by Barry Bergdoll, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, with Peter Christensen, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art.

Philadelphia’s KieranTimberlake Associates was one of five firms chosen to participate in the exhibition from a group of over 400 applicants. For over two decades, KieranTimberlake Associates has created beautifully crafted, thoughtfully made designs which are holistically integrated to site, program and people. The firm is recognized for its research-based practice that focuses on new materials, processes, assemblies and products. They have received over eighty design citations, including the 2008 Architecture Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects. Their influential book refabricating Architecture, investigates how transfer processes from aerospace, auto and ship manufacturers are poised to transform architecture.

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