If you’re a germaphobe, technology might be your best friend. Bring your hands toward the faucet and water begins to flow; when you’re finished the water shuts off. No physical contact required. Although the technology of automatic taps is nothing new, it’s still a handy means of ensuring good hygiene. Italian designer and architect Stefano Giovannoni’s One is a new faucet for Il Bagno Alessi, produced by Oras, that integrates uses the automatic tap technology within its sleek and streamlined form.

One for Il Bagno Alessi. Designed by Stefano Giovannoni for Oras.

Remember when faucets were long and lean? This one is definitely not. Its proportions are much different than your traditional faucet, featuring a much heftier diameter and a more stout aesthetic. Shiny, smooth and curvy, One will be presented at Milan Design Week this month. It is the newest addition to the Il Bagno Alessi collection, a collaboration between the faucet-maker Oras and the Italian design factory Alessi, responsible for transforming our world of objects and gadgets since the early 1930s. This faucet’s design is so simple, we’re not quite sure how you change the temperature. What do you think?

Check out some other Alessi pieces including the recently unveiled bathroom collection and (with warmer weather supposedly on its way) Barbicù, both designed by Piero Lissoni.

via designboom