07/2009 DURAN Group - Award-winning design Lifestyle products with glass components from the DURAN Group receive prestigious design awards Two new award-winning objects from designer Wolf Udo Wagner sucessfully combine design and industry: The "Vesta bbq" table-top grill and "Fireplace" were created in collaboration with the DURAN Group. "Fireplace" is the urban interpretation of a campfire. The Ponton fireplace, which has received multiple awards, comes in three sizes. It is designed for indoor and out-door use. A full tank of bioalcohol is enough for just about three hours with minimal CO2 emissions. The framework is made out of stainless steel, the aesthetically-pleasing mounting made out of heat-resistant borosilicate glass comes from DURAN, and the design is by notable designer Wolf Udo Wagner. The object immediately received four awards that are held in very high regard in designer circles: the DesignPlus Award, the DDC Design Award Gold, the Form Award, and the GOOD DESIGN Award. The high-quality Ponton "Vesta bbq" table-top grill is named after the Roman goddess of fire, Vesta. The puristic object made out of glass and stainless steel is 19cm high, has a diameter of 30cm, and adds to upscale tableware culture. Sustainable design and high-quality work-manship are equally important to Wolf Udo Wagner, and that is how the, up to now, only grill made out of glass and stainless steel is completely produced in Germany. The fireproof cylinder made out of double tempered borosilicate glass is from DURAN. The DURAN Group is one of the worldwide leading manufacturers of borosilicate glass, a special glass that is especially chemical and heat resistant with little expansion and which is not only used in laboratories and the pharmaceutical industry, but also in other varying industries. Its diverse applications range from engineering to the chemical and electrotechnical industries to applications in oceanography. The fact that this technical glass is also used in the field of design is largely due to the premium quality DURAN offers as well as the high-quality postprocessing and excellent project management. Designer Wolf Udo Wagner finds collaborating with an industry manufacturer delightful: "My designs are simple and functional. When I design, I bring everything into question in order to allow something new to come into existence. The challenge when designing a new product is to create relationships within the context of people, the environment, and culture. What I like about DURAN is the precision with which my design ideas have taken form." Wolf Udo Wagner runs a studio for product & interior design in Frankfurt am Main along with Michaela Ebbinghaus and an international team. The studio creates product and interior designs for leading international brands that recognise design as part of their marketing strategy. The team works in all design fields from analysis to marketable product. Their work is very successful in the market and has received 30 awards so far including several Red Dot awards, IF Design Plus awards, and Good Design Awards from the Athenaeum Museum in Chicago. Some of their projects have been included in permanent museum exhibitions. Wolf Udo Wagner studied architecture and product design in Manchester and Darmstadt. He supervises a range of products for the brands "miawolf" and "ponton" and is also a member of the board of the Deutscher Designer Club. http://www.duran-group.com/en/meta-navigation-header/news/news-archive/news-info/article/35.html