Terracotta takes over the radiator in Herkner design for Tubes

Terracotta has left the plant pot and moved onto the wall.

Tubes, the Italian heating brand, has joined forces with German designer Sebastian Herkner to create Terre, an electric radiator built from terracotta and aluminium. It is Tubes' first radiator made from terracotta, according to Dezeen. The announcement was published on 16 September 2026.

The name gives away the idea. Terre means earth in Italian, and the heating body, the part that gives off warmth, is made from premium clay extracted exclusively from the Impruneta quarry in the Chianti region of Tuscany. That clay forms the outer body around an aluminium core. The pairing brings a craft material more often linked with tiles and pots into home heating.

The project is also a double first for the people involved. It is Herkner's first collaboration with Tubes, and it introduces terracotta into the company's Elements collection for the first time. The shape is described as sculptural yet essential, which in plain terms means it is meant to be looked at as well as used. Tubes presents it as an architectural element for the living space, one that can sit comfortably in different rooms of the house.

Colour comes from firing, not paint. Terre is offered in five exclusive glaze finishes, the thin glass-like layer fused to clay in the kiln. The options are Transparent Glazed Terracotta, Glossy White, Bark Brown, Mineral Grey and Ocean Blue. Transparent Glazed Terracotta keeps the natural clay tone visible, while the other four cover it in solid colour.

The radiator can do a second job too. Each version can be complemented with a shelf in marble or MDF, a smooth engineered board made from pressed wood fibres. With the shelf fitted, Tubes says the unit becomes a functional furnishing element, a place to perch keys, a small plant or a book. The company points to living areas and entrance halls as ideal settings, where a heater can also act as a hallway ledge.

There is a bathroom option as well. Tubes offers a separate Terre bathroom model, listed on its own product page, for homes that want the same look in a wetter room. Both the main Terre page and the Terre bathroom page are live on the Tubes website. Full details are on the official Terre pages from Tubes and Sebastian Herkner.

What makes this stand out is the swap at its centre. Most heaters tuck their workings behind steel. Here the earth itself does the talking.