Interview with Daniele Cantoni by Lawrence Bartolomucci
Introducing Zero1, the SPA Table - A new era in massage beds
Article from Area Wellness Magazine Issue N. 18
How do you combine design and functionality, without allowing one element to prevail over the other?
Technodesign is a small company that is known internationally for the technology and design of Nuvola. We test every product for months in one of our own Spas and file weekly reports about both our clients’ and our masseurs’ impressions of it. Our vision is very simple – to create products that will have a strong emotional impact and that are original and unique, yet immediately understood and easy to use. This was the case with Nuvola, which can be found today in many of the most prestigious international Spas, where it is considered an exclusive and successful treatment. The same thing has happened with the new Zero1 bed.
Tell us about the process of designing it…
Zero1 was tested for 11 months and, from the first prototype to the official presentation, five different versions were modified. The last and final one allows for any type of massage or body/facial treatment to be executed without the technician and the client coming in contact with the water. Every 30/40 seconds, it creates a very gentle wave that caresses the body, from the feet to the neck and then slowly returns to the feet again. The original patented system allows the body to remain firmly anchored to the padded surface of the bed, while the water slides between the legs and along the sides, allowing for a perfect grasp of the client’s skin by the masseur’s hands. In addition, the temperature and color of the water, as well as the rhythm of these relaxing “waves”, can be regulated.
What is the result?
An incredible sense of muscular relaxation, which facilitates the masseur’s work, making the treatment easier to carry out. Additionally, though the motion of the wave is slow and delicate, its repetition allows for considerable lymph drainage. Last but not least, the heating system eliminates the need for electric blankets and the fastidious effect of contact with a cold surface. At the same time, cooler water can be used during the summer months.
Tell us something about the design…
Anyone who observes images of Zero1 will realize that it represents purism and essentialism at its highest level, as was true of Nuvola. Looking at it from the side, this bed seems to be suspended in mid-air. As a matter of fact, Japanese Spa managers, who are known to have an eye for design, were among the first to purchase it, as soon as we offered our first official presentation of the product.
How was this idea born?
Although Nuvola is not a bed, many estheticians use it for manual face and body massages. Following a series of motivational interviews, we began to study the idea of a dream table, that would be capable of fulfilling the client’s most recurring dream – to be massaged on the shores of a tropical island, caressed by the steady, gentle waves of the sea.
And the greatest difficulty you’ve encountered?
Numerous experts in a range of massage techniques have told us that it is of the utmost importance that the client be secure and anchored to the massage surface, to allow for optimum grasp between the therapists hands and the client’s body and avoid provoking a sense of “motion sickness”. There should therefore be none of the rocking or fluctuations typical of water-filled mattresses…
For which treatments is it used?
All those possible with a normal massage bed, but even for methodologies such as lymph drainage massage and cranio-sacral therapy, each of which works in synergy with water movement. We are just beginning, however, and we are evaluating the experiences of our first clients. Last week, we received a report from a Spa in Tuscany, informing us how its clients enjoyed every type of treatment laying face down, with their arms aligned with their sides, palms up and with the water at its greatest capacity, at a temperature of 36 degrees C, etc.
And the materials from which it’s made…
In keeping with Nuvola, we use only high quality materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, oak and wengé wood. The surface is padded using a system, for which a special PCT patent was required. There is no need for advance preparation, nor for faucets or drains. A normal 220 volt outlet is all that is required.