Details for series "Area Pro"

Area Pro

Area Pro comes naturally

Just as the best design objects offer an intuitive understanding of how to use them, the Area Pro series also comes naturally. With its earthy colors and pleasant tactility, the wide range of ceramic products offered by Area Pro immediately spurs ideas on how to use them. The Area Pro series, which is inspired by fine-grained, layered limestone, blends in and stands out. This makes these tiles and accessories reliable go-to products in nearly every circumstance. Even if they are still new, they emanate their potential to become a future classic.

Impressions

Room for details

All tiles are non-directional, which adds to their versatility, along with their diversity of formats and tones. Moreover, all colors in the new series are coordinated with Agrob Buchtal’s ChromaPlural range, allowing for all kinds of mixes and matches. What's more, it always remains possible to create bespoke projects as well.

Every design process requires architects to simultaneously address a multitude of often contradictory questions. When it comes to tiles, Area Pro is an excellent answer. The series is available in many different sizes, and with the right technical specifications for a variety of applications in residential, hospitality and commercial projects.

SEBASTIAN HERKNER

Designing the Grid

Design luminary Sebastian Herkner worked with Agrob Buchtal on the development of the anti-slip surface which has been dubbed the Grid. He talks about this collaboration and explains what fascinated him about this project.

“I was very pleased when Agrob Buchtal approached me to design an anti-slip pattern for them”, says Sebastian Herkner. “These tiles are to be used in very utilitarian settings and I found it an amazing opportunity to work on a design which will bring functionality and beauty into areas where aesthetics is not necessarily a first consideration.”

Whereas many of Sebastian Herkner Studio’s other projects have a striking presence, he truly enjoyed working on something less notable. Herkner: “It was certainly different to designing an iconic armchair but for me, a project always begins similarly, with a visit to the company, to get to know the people, to understand what they are making, and to take a look behind the scenes. I found it super fascinating to design an anti-slip pattern for a tile. Perhaps it is not an obvious design assignment but it is very important.”

Herkner continues: “I had designed tiles before, for a small company in Bavaria that used to make stove tiles, but this was a completely different job, because the patterned tile is a mass product. No matter what, every design begins with a white piece of paper, and what I was looking for was a pattern that is spontaneous and has a logic.

That led to this repetition of trapezium-shaped rectangles and this pattern that can be continued in all four directions. For me, it was a bit like textile design but it had to be very functional obviously and meet very exact specifications. I had to revisit my high school mathematics for this grid, to determine the depth of the relief and the size of the ‘hills’. This design was a combination of creativity and physics.”

For Herkner, collaboration with Agrob Buchtal on the grid for the Area Pro tiles was rewarding. “In our work, you achieve the best results when you approach a design project with an open eye and unconditional curiosity. I love the diversity of projects we have been able to work on in the past 13 years. For us, every product we design supports the next one. From every project, we learn something which we can use in another.”

Article overview

Series Area Pro

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Area Pro

Smart Features

Always perfect grip

Area Pro offers multiple slip-resistant surfaces, including the Grid, which comes with a non-slip grade of R12V4. None of the slip-resistant surfaces affect the tiles visually. Area Pro's non-slip surfaces are available in larger-sized tiles as well, which regulations now permit in professional kitchens.

6 mm wall tiles

Thinner tiles use less material, require less energy to manufacture and transport, and their lower weight makes them easier to process for tilers. These ultra-thin tiles are ideal for residential use and in hotel bathrooms, for example. In such circumstances, the 6mm-thin earthenware wall tiles offer a sustainable solution which is both efficient and elegant.

Innovation Drytile

The Drytile option is available for floor tiles of the Area Pro series, for most sizes between 30 x 60 cm and 60 x 120 cm. Drytile is an innovative technology where a cork compound is applied on the back of the tiles. Thanks to this compound, tiles can be laid directly on an even surface, without the use of any glue.

Photocatalytic surface

Area Pro tiles come with Agrob Buchtal’s sustainable Hytect technology which make them easy to clean. Dirt and spills are easily removed from these tiles. Hytect protects ceramics from bacteria and mould, and neutralizes pollutants and odours.

Washbasins and shower trays

Area Pro comprises a collection of ceramic washbasins and shower trays which are available in all twelve colors of the series. These elements offer the possibility to design entirely monochromatic environments or to find a balanced harmony between several hues of Area Pro and full visual integration of walls, floors and fixtures.

Ceramic channel cover

For every floor tile which can be applied around pools, Agrob Buchtal supplies a special rim product to ensure visual continuity between the pool and its surround: a channel cover with water-cut openings. The Area Pro series comprises this element as well, featuring the appropriate slip-resistance categories (B or C).