FEATURED PROJECT
Superb object lesson

“As an architect you can explain and present all you like, bring samples with you and what have you, but it will never be as convincing as offering the client the authentic impression afforded by real experience,” says Hans-Günther Schwarz, who shares the management of his office with his two sons. When furnishing his architectural office in Altdorf near Nuremberg, he opted for the comprehensive Geberit ONE bathroom series with neat surfaces, indirect lighting and practical details. In contrast to many model bathrooms, the washroom facilities in the Schwarz architectural office are actually much more similar to those found in many a city apartment: For one, the building is listed, while the bathroom’s footprint, at 1.5 x 2.5 meters, is somewhat constrained. In view of these conditions, developing a functional and aesthetic bathroom concept presented a real challenge. The architect found the optimum solution in Geberit ONE: The bathroom series made it possible to create a wash place with a washbasin that looks to be free-floating and a mirror cabinet integrated into the wall, a toilet and a floor-even walk-in shower with niche storage box and frameless shower partition on the small floor space. The technology, along with all fastening systems and the washstand siphon, is concealed in the prewall construction. The installation wall also provides sufficient storage space for the mirror cabinet and a shelf in the shower, which means the respective doors sit almost flush with the wall. This allows for the creation of visually calm surfaces throughout, making the room appear larger.

"Uncomplicated" through and through is an attribute that characterizes the Geberit ONE bathroom concept rather well: The snugly-fitted Geberit GIS installation wall is delivered prefabricated to Schwarz Architekten, and – if the client so desires – can already be equipped with the Geberit PushFit and Geberit Silent-Pro drinking water and waste water supply systems, as well as the wall drain and the two mounting frames for the storage niche and mirror cabinet. In the end, all that remains to be done is to install the water supply system and cable routing. “The installation walls save a lot of time and effort, and that is also true with regard to larger projects,” Schwarz explains. Cleaning is likewise easy when it comes to the comprehensive Geberit ONE bathroom series: The washbasin is equipped with a wall-fitted faucet and a drain at the back edge of the bowl. This gives water and lime residues no chance to settle. The Geberit ONE toilet does not have a flushing rim and can therefore be disinfected in its entirety. If desired, contactless flushing may be triggered via the Geberit Sigma80 actuator plate. The Geberit bathroom fittings have allowed the architect to create a “bathroom of tomorrow”, as Hans-Günther Schwarz puts it. When working with building contractors, he is now able to provide them with an insight into the possibilities offered by the sanitary specialist with its Geberit ONE bathroom series – directly on the premises of his architectural practice. (am)