WHEN DESIGN SHAPES TOMORROW

What happens when design begins not with the object, but with the experience it creates?

On September 24, 2026, LAUFEN brought this question to Lisbon with the event WHEN DESIGN SHAPES TOMORROW. Held at the Lisbon Gallery, the gathering brought together Yves Behar, Guta Moura Guedes, and Marc Viardot to explore design, innovation, and experience, as well as Behar’s collaboration with LAUFEN and the creative process behind VOLTA.

At the center of the discussion was Yves Behar and VOLTA, his latest collection for LAUFEN. Rather than simply containing and directing water, VOLTA gives its movement a visible presence. Its unique vortex transforms the flow of water into part of the experience, creating a relationship between movement, form, and function.

Yves Behar was joined by Marc Viardot, Corporate Design and Marketing Director at Roca Group, who brought LAUFEN's perspective on the relationship between design, material innovation and responsible manufacturing. The conversation also explored Saphirkeramik, whose strength and precision enable refined ceramic forms, and the E-Kiln in Gmunden, Austria, the world's first electric tunnel kiln for sanitary ceramics, representing an important step towards the decarbonisation of ceramic production.

The conversation was moderated by Guta Moura Guedes, Portuguese curator, strategic designer and cultural manager, whose work explores design and architecture in relation to cultural, social and environmental transformation.

Together, the speakers considered how design can transform an element as familiar as water into a different experience, while exploring the materials, technologies and ideas shaping the bathroom of tomorrow.