Kalahari, our Bathroom Sink

There are so many new things in our Eco-flat Lab, as Epi called it, that we are a little behind with our articles. This week, we’d like to introduce our sink to you. Everyone, this is Kalahari, a slick Spanish object well-known for its lightness of being.
The Kalahari has been designed by Ramón Benedito for Roca and is hence a truly local product (produced also in Spain, so no transport guilt for us here). It won the ADIFAD Delta price in 2001 and has since been very successful. When I first saw it in the book ‘ecoproducte ecodisseny’, I thought it wouldn’t work because the shape is so flat. But, after living with it for quite a few months now, we can honestly say that it is very comfortable and oh so stylish. The real reason why we chose the Kalahari for our bathroom is its eco-friendliness. Designer Benedito decided to do something when he realised that many perfectly intact sinks are being thrown out just because their owner fancied a different design. This is how he came up with the Kalahari, a sink made from one single piece of ceramic. The fact that it is a shelf and a sink in one piece minimises the material used drastically. Whether the aesthetic end of life is prolonged as well is arguable but it definitely creates less waste than the standard sink. The price for a Kalahari (65 x 45) is €156.
Other eco sinks we came across are the ones made from recycled glass available from Zicla. We also came across this innovative product called Toilet Lid Sink, a toilet and a sink combined, to recycle the water… but we weren’t quite ready to sacrifice aesthetics! After all, I am an eco designer, and both words are equally important.

Other eco features in our bathroom are recycled Slate Tiles on the wall, water saving devices for toilet, shower and tabs, a restored bath tub, our second-hand/recycled mirror from the 30ies, double glazing for the window, local and fairly sustainable tiles for the floor.
Soon to come: Shower curtain or glass wall? Do incandescent light bulbs make sense in a bathroom? Natural toothpaste? Bath towels made from bamboo fibres? Any other suggestions, email us!