Harry and Evelin Wӧrz and son, Alex, designers and suppliers ofprecision Austrian engineered fireplaces in Cape Town and Johannesburg, knows that the future of fireplaces is to combine innovation with both beauty and functionality into modern day, eco-friendly fireplaces … but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, lets start at the beginning.
People drive innovation and it is their needs that mould technological revolutions. It took human’s need to stay warm, to create fire and it is from that first spark that fire became the catalyst for innovation throughout history
Humble Beginnings
Fire is a wild and powerful force of energy that needed to be controlled in order to be more useful to us. That need bore the creation of simple rock enclosures that would not only curb the nature of the fire but also absorb energy and release it once the flames subsided. It is from these simple stacks of stone that the ceramic brick, heat retaining fireplaces evolved, to become the heartbeat of the modern home.
We’ve seen many advances in other areas of interior design with lighting being upgraded to LED, water and energy usage has become smarter … everything has become “smarter” but the somewhat forgotten fireplace seemed to stay on the backburner. Traditional fireplaces come pre-built into an existing structure, usually bricked into older homes and historical buildings. Or blackened sheet metal fireplaces have been installed, more as an afterthought than a design feature, with the chimney abruptly sticking out the top and through the ceiling. Traditional fireplaces have served us well and deserve a warm au revoir to make room for the future.
An Eco-Friendly Future
People are more environmentally conscious and that is perhaps why the traditional fireplace fell out of favour due to its high-fuel demand, lower heating capacity and poor heat retention, making it expensive to maintain with little benefit. Even the decorative, yet some what useless for heating, ethanol-fueled fireplaces tried to become the next best solution, but other than their good looks, they aren’t good for much else.
In the wake of environmental and economic crisis, alternate heating solutions, such as underfloor installations, became popular for holistic home heating but since it is difficult to install after a home or business is constructed and still runs off electricity, it’s not a viable, economical or sustainable solution.
However, architects and designers have chosen ceramic masonry fireplaces when needing safe and versatile distribution of heat while still maintaining their aesthetic vision for the home they are designing or decorating. Innovative architects and designers that choose smart and sustainable heating solutions that do not forfeit design over functionality.
Take a look at our infographic below to see how these designer fireplaces fair against their traditional cousins.
