London On Tap
‘TAP TOP’ IS TIP TOP FOR LONDON’S TAP WATER
Boris Johnson and Thames Water unveil London’s water carafe
A new, sustainable, glass carafe for tap water, to be used by London’s bars, hotels and restaurants, has been unveiled by the Mayor of London and Thames Water at City Hall today.
The carafe, called ‘Tap Top’, designed by London-based industrial designer Neil Barron, is the winning design in the London On Tap campaign competition, which challenged London-based designers to create an iconic and sustainable carafe to serve tap water across the capital.
Mayor Johnson, who presented Neil with his £5,000 prize from Thames Water, said:
“I have been hugely impressed by the magnitude of London-based design talent that this fantastic carafe competition has revealed. Many congratulations to Neil Barron, who has created ‘Tap Top’, a top-notch water carafe for London. I am sure it will be snapped up by businesses and organisations across the capital in order to make tap water an easier choice.
“At a time when we are all tightening our belts, choosing tap water over bottled water makes more sense than ever, whilst also helping people cut their carbon footprint.”
Thames Water’s Chief Executive David Owens said:
“London’s tap water is world-class. It’s around 500 times cheaper than bottled water; generates 300 times less carbon during production than its bottled water alternative; and tastes just as good, if not better. Drinking tap water just makes economic and environmental sense.
“We want to make our tap water accessible to everyone, and we want Londoners to be offered a choice about what they drink when they go out. Now they will be able identify our tap water with Neil’s stunning design, and drink the best water from the best bottle.”
Neil Barron’s distinctive tapered glass design, with its four pouring spouts, is already winning plaudits among the design community, who predict it will become a design classic.
Crafts Council executive director, Rosy Greenlees, who chaired the panel of judges, said:
“The standard of entries for London On Tap was very high, so it was a difficult decision to make. We chose ‘Tap Top’ as it fulfils all the criteria we felt the London carafe should: practical, sustainable and beautiful. I’m sure the Tap Top carafe will become well-known in London restaurants as an example of the quality, innovation and ethical design that Londoners expect.”
The design has also won support from green groups. Environmental campaigner, Tony Juniper, and a fellow member of the panel, said:
“This is a beautiful design. It will serve as an attractive and durable reminder to Londoners that we have a perfectly good source of water flowing through our taps, and how by drinking this instead of bottled water, we can cut down on waste and greenhouse gas emissions.”
Tap Top will be mass manufactured in England in January, ready to sell to the capital’s thousands of restaurants, bars and cafes in Spring 2009.
Tap Top was selected from a shortlist of ten designs, from an original 115 entries, by a panel including key figures from the worlds of design, hospitality, the water industry and the environment. This included celebrity chef Aldo Zilli and Zaha Hadid, architect of the London 2012 Olympic Aquatics Centre.
Neil Barron’s design with its four pouring spouts is ‘drip-free’ and helps to trap ice when pouring. Neil describes his carafe as: “tall, tapered and elegant, yet contemporary like an inverted rocket.”
The London On Tap campaign was launched in February, to promote the serving, and consumption of London’s tap water in its thousands of restaurants, bars and hotels. Since then, sales of bottled water in the UK have plummeted with more consumers switching to tap water as the greener choice.
The campaign has garnered support from celebrity chefs, environmental groups, and even the House of Lords, with thousands of restaurants and bars already pledging their support.
Ends
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Contact: Thames Water Press Office: Tel: +44(0) 118 373 8935 or +44(0)7747 640448
Footage and images from today’s announcement, the winning design and short-listed designs are available on request.
About the designer
1. Neil Barron is an industrial designer who has produced mainstream commercial products for clients including: Intel, Boots, Thulé, Body Shop, Lego, Escada, Unilever and E.ON. He is a part-time senior tutor at the Royal College of Art.
London On Tap
2. The London On Tap campaign is a collaboration between Thames Water and the Mayor of London to promote the serving to tap water in London’s restaurants, bars and hotels. More information, images and logos are available at www.londonontap.org
3. A short film about the campaign is available at:
www.thameswater.co.uk/londonontapfilm
Tap Top
4. The Tap Top carafe can be ordered through the London On Tap website: www.londontap.org. Distribution will be organised through leading catering equipment suppliers the Carford Group, and can be purchased using a credit card. In anticipation of the carafes being available in Spring 2009 – catering establishments can register their interest online now.
The design competition
5. The short-listed designers were: Neil Barron, Dan Bramham, Chloe Coulson, Matthew Fiddimore, Jonny Freeman, Ines Sanchez Calatrave, Nina Tolstrup (2 designs), Adam White and Steve Wooster
6. The Competition judges were: David Owens – CEO, Thames Water; Jenny Jones – London Assembly Member for the Green Party; Aldo Zilli – Restaurateur and Celebrity Chef; Tony Juniper – Environmental campaigner; Lynda Relph Knight – Editor, Design Week; Professor Jeni Colbourne – Chief Inspector of Drinking Water, DEFRA; Zaha Hadid – Architect, London 2102 Olympic Aquatics Centre; Rosy Greenlees – Executive Director, Crafts Council (Chair of Judging Panel); Andrew Cook – Deputy Chief Executive, WaterAid.
Thames Water’s water quality
7. Thames Water carries out almost half a million tests on drinking water annually, complying with 99.98% of stringent national and European standards. London tap water costs less than a tenth of a penny per litre and emits 300 times less CO2 than bottled water alternatives. The quality of Thames Water’s tap water is independently monitored by the Drinking Water Inspectorate
8. A taste test comparing bottled water brands with tap water was carried out by Decanter magazine in December 2007 and broadcast by the BBC’s Panorama programme on 18 Feb 2008. Thames Water’s tap water was rated third out of 24 varieties tested.
