New Worlds
How can customized luxury be realized in the bathroom? In the “Make it yours!” campaign (and it even includes a white paper), Axor as the design brand of the Hansgrohe Group, shows how multifaceted bathroom scenarios can be designed. One key element: the “AXOR FinishPlus” surfaces: selected colors, surfaces, and materials for a personalized look. Starting with just a single unit, designers can choose from between 11 basic colors and when procuring 30 or more units five additional special colors are available. Anyone desiring even greater individuality can have special designs and lasered, printed or engraved signets made for them with the “AXOR Signature Service”. In collaboration with Barber Osgerby, Ushi Tamborriello, und Masquespacio, AXOR has developed three unusual bathroom concepts that visualize the immense range of options. The result are spaces that appeal to the senses and show just how different bathroom settings can be.
Take "Skyline”, for example. Here, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have developed a concept that allows the bathroom to be transformed into an elegant retreat. To this end, they selected the “AXOR One” mixers they designed and combined them with the “AXOR Universal Circular Accessories” with a matt white finish, which they fitted into the bathroom of a London penthouse apartment that measures just seven square meters. “For us, matt white represents purity, simplicity and serenity," says Jay Osgerby by way of explaining their choice. The color that features on the shower attachment, thermostat, washbasin fittings, towel hooks, shelves, mirrors and the “AXOR Drain” shower channel form the greatest possible contrast to the monochrome green used for the wall and floor tiles. The latter come courtesy of Mutina’s “Primavera collection”, designed by Barber Osgerby and reflect in subtle nuances the daylight that enters through the floor-to-ceiling window. They lend the bathroom a consciously harmonious atmosphere as Jay Osgerby explains: “In color theory green clearly has a very relaxing effect. It is a reference to nature, after all. And in this bathroom setting we can draw on a coherent color palette that defines the entire space.”
Swiss interior designer Ushi Tamborriello explores the interaction between narration and space in her “Gretel und Hänsel” bathroom concept that cites the eponymous fairy tale by the Grimm brothers. She also sees her design as a reference to the Black Forest, where AXOR is headquartered. Here, the 15-square-meter bathroom serves to mirror the interior design preferences of a modern-day Hansel and Gretel. Both personalities are mirrored in the choice of products, which are playfully questioned: Hansel, for example, apparently opts for the square “AXOR Suite washbasin”, while Gretel prefers the round version – or vice versa. Both washbasins include “AXOR MyEdition” fittings, with Gretel favoring the “AXOR FinishPlus” with a surface in “Polished Red Gold” and an American walnut top while Hansel chooses the “Matt Black Finish” and a white marble top. "This duality characterizes the entire design. The pale white marble of the walls contrasts with the heaviness and elegance of the black marble on the floor and ceiling,” Ushi Tamborriello says of the design concept. The topography of the Black Forest serves as inspiration for the spatial design in which a wooden frame divides the bathroom into two areas. Accordingly, the more functional front area offers washbasins, storage space and seating, while the raised section creates a room within a room for relaxing in the shower or bathtub while also enjoying the view. As such, the bathroom provides a peaceful retreat while simultaneously serving as a place for realizing personal preferences.
In the third bathroom concept, the “Utopian Dream” masterminded by Masquespacio design studio the setting is a 20-square-meter space. As part of a fictitious luxury hotel the bathroom is embedded in a futuristic high-rise setting. Religious architectural elements such as round arches define the scenery, whose design includes various colors and surfaces. The brushed aluminum columns reflect the light of the surrounding metropolis and transform the bathroom into a futuristic temple. For the fittings, Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse from Masquespacio chose various products with an “AXOR FinishPlus” surface in “Polished Black Chrome”. This included the new products from the “AXOR Suite und AXOR ShowerComposition” program designed by Philippe Starck, for example, the washstand, the bathtub, the shower, or accessories like a towel holder. The dark bathroom furniture interacts with the red reflections of the city while the concrete flooring and arches make for a calm contrast. “We had a clear idea of what color we wanted the AXOR products to be and it’s important in our projects that everything is well-balanced, and we don’t just pick anything ... so we took the color of the fittings as our starting point,” says Christophe Penasse when outlining the concept. Masquespacio has created an expressive, almost surreal space in which the users are part of the big city yet still able to extricate themselves from it.
