COLOMBO DESIGN, a leading italian manufacturer of handles and accessories for doors and windows,
is dedicated to a discerning quality of design that combines technological innovation with
excellence in industrial manufacturing procedures, adopting only eco-compatible processes
in every stage of production. the COLOMBO DESIGN state-of-the-art product catalogue features door handle
projects created by protagonists of today's international design scene, among them
carlo bartoli, jean marie massaud, jasper morrison, michele de lucchi, alberto meda and konstantin grcic.
with this competition, COLOMBO DESIGN aims to expand the horizons of door handles.

the door handle is an exciting medium
in the field of internal door and window furniture the path between innovation and what is
considered repetition or re-design of 'classical' forms is narrow. if it is true that through the
years the most successful models have been variations on basic forms, it is also true that
door handles are an exciting medium for contemporary forms. along the qualitative line
of their long formal (sculptural) tradition, door handles have always expressed and matched
the changing lifestyle choices of society. this competition is a difficult aesthetic and technical
challenge to stimulate design innovation with much attention to detail.

for everyday use, and not for gadget display
we are not looking for excessive-aggressive styling or new radical high tech solutions.
please refrain from all those overworked concepts of randomly including interactive technologies
to encourage behavioral transformation. door handle designs with incorporated LED lights,
the latest cool audio or video gadgets, cell phones etc. will not be considered as relevant.
this is an opportunity of developing a real product, a simple, but important functional object.
the scope of the co-organizing company COLOMBO DESIGN is to manufacture the best door handles
of this competition.

the basics of door lever handle hardware
sweeping forms are great, a sleek and shiny appearance too, but please also consider that
indoor handles use commonly marketed mechanical parts, which are conforming to the
relevant building and safety standards. the actual sizes of the levers vary, but convenient
measurements have been widely adopted and hardware manufacturers make their products
to fit these standards. the bore hole size, cross bore size and the thickness of the doors are
to be considered, (in the case of non-standard door thicknesses, customized pins are available).
most door handle levers are mounted on a round rose, however new designs may include square,
oval and other shapes of roses. other important factors are robustness, the thickness of the
rose plates, smooth or angular finished edges (for purposes of visual accentuation), …
last but not least, the handle set itself (as a door has two sides, a door requires two handles
- a left and a right version).

free-style
experimental projects are very welcome and considered appropriate if they match the few technical
requirements cited. in this case, a pragmatic design approach of 'making do' to verify the quality
of your door handle design through mock-ups or prototypes is very appreciated.

get more info and register here