Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1523401
20 | Architecture & Design TUBES RadiaToRi The Warm Side of deSign E stablished in 1992, Tubes is a truly one-of-a-kind case history in the radiator and heated towel rail industry, owing to the major focus on styling and formal innovation which has distinguished it since its market début, marking it out as a strongly innovative and dynamic concern in terms of product approach. Tubes company headquarters are situated in Resana, in the province of Treviso, and all production takes place in-house. Made in Italy is one of the key values of the corporate philosophy, along with innovation, experimenting in shapes and technology, fine craftsmanship and superior quality. Ever since the onset in 1992, the brand has demonstrated its outstanding ability to accommodate market requirements and interpret certain gaps that needed to be filled. Up until then, radiators were seen as a purely functional object that needed to be hidden from view. Tubes was able to fill this gap, focusing on innovation and giving rise to intense research and experimentation both in terms of processes and materials used, as well as from a styling perspective. The first step is the Basics collection created in 1994 which is still part of the brand catalogue today. The genuine cornerstone in Tubes history is nevertheless the creation of the Elements collection in 2004 which, under the artistic direction of Ludovica+Roberto Palomba, presents an actual revolution in the radiator industry. In this collection the brand expresses a new concept of the heating element, turning it into an icon of design. The company invites internationally- renowned designers (Antonia Astori, Matteo Fiorini, Stefano Giovannoni, Elisa Giovannoni, Peter Jamieson, Alberto Meda, Nicola De Ponti, Satyendra Pakhalé as well as Ludovica+Roberto Palomba themselves) to reinterpret the radiator as an element of the architectural structure, brimming with a strong personality, thanks also to the customisation and modularity possibilities. The Elements collection also came about thanks to a major technological innovation: the GVR (which stands for "gruppo valvole a collegamento remoto", that is remote connection valve assembly). This basic format has given rise to genuine iconic models, architectural feature elements that have been included within the permanent collections of some of the most important design museums in the world: from the "Centre Pompidou" in Paris to the Museum TUBES RadiaToRi The Warm Side of deSign