Finalist 2025

Aura Water

Aura Water / Katapult Design

A fusion between purity of aesthetics, alkaline water technology and unrivalled design craft, unimagined before.

The Aura Water Tap is a groundbreaking, carbon neutral kitchen tap that delivers alkaline, hot, and cold water from a single spout. Designed for health-conscious homeowners, it combines cutting edge filtration technology with sleek, modern aesthetics to provide pure, mineral enriched water while promoting sustainability and wellness in everyday life.

Design Brief:

The design brief for the Aura Water Tap was to develop a functional, sustainable tapware solution that delivers high quality alkaline water without compromising design.

The brief demanded advanced filtration technology within a sleek, user-friendly form that fit seamlessly into modern kitchens. A key challenge was developing a system to separate alkaline water from regular water to maintain purity.

Achieving carbon neutral production while ensuring top notch durability and ease of installation was also essential. The design team needed to balance the demand for aesthetic appeal with practical features while considering eco friendly practices at every stage of the process.


This project was developed by:

Design Process

The Aura Water Tap exemplifies good design by merging functionality, sustainability, and aesthetics into a seamless product. With a clear vision to provide health-conscious consumers with high quality alkaline water, the design goes beyond styling to deliver real value.

Consumer research identified a growing demand for mineral enriched water, and the design meets this need while adhering to sustainable practices, including carbon neutral production and the use of recycled materials.

The taps form communicates its purpose clearly, with a minimalist design that enhances its functionality. The three in one spout, which delivers alkaline, hot, and cold water, ensures that no cross contamination occurs. Its sleek form, paired with luxurious finishes, makes it an attractive addition to modern kitchens.

Functionally, the tap performs flawlessly, providing a user-friendly experience while enhancing water quality through advanced filtration. The design avoids electricity dependency, instead using water pressure to power the filtration process.

It is intuitive to use and easy to install, fitting seamlessly into both new builds and renovations. Safety is ensured through rigorous testing, meeting water filtration standards, and preventing water cross contamination.

The tap’s materials, such as the durable LuxPVD® finish, ensure longevity and reliability. The Aura Water Tap provides value for money by offering an innovative solution at a competitive price point.

Its design not only addresses consumer needs but also elevates industry standards for sustainability and wellness, driving a positive economic and environmental impact.

Design Excellence

Aura Water sets a new benchmark in sustainable design through the creation of the world’s first carbon neutral alkaline water tap, combining aesthetic excellence with environmental innovation.

Its three-in-one patent pending design delivers alkaline, hot and cold water from a single spout an elegant and space-saving solution that redefines tapware functionality. With a touch button that seamlessly changes the flow from hot and cold water to Alkaline water.

Auras business model prioritises sustainable wellness, helping users avoid bottled water and encouraging healthier lifestyles through accessible, filtered alkaline water.

With no electricity required, and minimal installation infrastructure, this innovation is suitable for both new builds and renovations, supporting lower-carbon construction pathways.

The product’s five high-end designer finishes offer unmatched style and longevity, making sustainability aspirational and desirable. Meanwhile, Aura’s transparent verification processes, such as independent Climate Active certification, provide a replicable model for other brands to emulate in terms of climate accountability and circular practice.

The scalable potential of this design lies in its simplicity and mass appeal. By fusing cutting edge filtration technology with low impact materials and processes, Aura is poised to transform both the kitchenware industry and consumer expectations, championing a future where design and sustainability are inseparable.

Design Innovation

The Aura Water Tap sets a new benchmark in product design by merging advanced water filtration with sustainability in a truly innovative way. It challenges conventional tapware by being the first carbon neutral alkaline tap, providing purified, mineral enriched water from a single spout.

This revolutionary design addresses both wellness and environmental concerns, offering a world first solution to water quality and eco conscious living.

The tap’s three in one spout, which delivers alkaline, hot, and cold water separately, is a breakthrough in water dispensing. The separation of alkaline water ensures purity, a unique feature that sets the Aura Water Tap apart from traditional designs.

Additionally, its two-stage filtration process, which enriches water with essential minerals, enhances hydration and health—a feature rarely seen in conventional tapware.

The Aura Water Tap also incorporates innovative manufacturing processes, including carbon neutral production, recycled brass, and solar powered energy usage, pushing boundaries in eco conscious design.

Its use of LuxPVD® finishes ensures long term durability and resistance to tarnishing, enhancing the product’s longevity and reducing waste.

While it refines existing tapware functionality, the Aura Water Tap represents a significant shift in how water quality and sustainability can be combined in a single product.

The design offers a new value proposition in both the wellness and eco conscious markets, establishing new standards for the industry.

Through this unique combination of advanced technology and sustainable production, the Aura Water Tap pushes the boundaries of conventional tapware design, inspiring the future of functional, responsible product design.

Design Impact

The Aura Water Tap impacts health, sustainability, and design by offering a unique product in the growing wellness and eco conscious market.

Environmentally, it minimises plastic waste, reducing bottled water consumption and its harmful effects. Its advanced filtration system promotes better hydration and detoxification, improving physical wellbeing.

The taps carbon neutral manufacturing and use of recycled materials exemplify sustainable practices, encouraging more responsible consumer behaviours.

The taps touch button is a first to market ambient purified mineral rich alkaline water with a touch of a button.

The product’s market appeal is strengthened by its innovative approach to water filtration, enhancing the brand’s reputation.

The Aura Water Tap represents a shift toward more sustainable, health-conscious choices in everyday living.

Circular / Sustainability Criteria

Aura Water tapware is designed to significantly reduce environmental and social impacts throughout its life cycle.

Manufactured in Australia by parent company Sussex Taps a carbon neutral company, the tapware is produced using solar-powered operations, efficient lighting, and recycled brass waste, with full Climate Active certification ensuring independent verification.

Its minimal part construction and modular components reduce material usage and enable ease of repair and longevity, key principles of both Circular Economy and regenerative design.

The tap’s retrofit capability minimises the need for complete replacements, reducing landfill waste while offering compatibility with most kitchens.

Its LUXPVD® finish is tarnish and corrosion resistant, extending product life and reducing maintenance needs.

No power is required for the filtration system, which filters and remineralises up to 7,500 litres annually using a simple two stage process cutting the need for bottled water and associated plastic waste.

By designing for durability, upgradeability and ease of service, Aura Water ensures its tapware is not only a visually stunning addition to the modern home, but also a long lasting and environmentally responsible choice.

Every product decision is purposefully aligned with a low impact, circular model that places people, planet, and future generations at its core.