Axor, the designer brand of Hansgrohe SE, soon may be adding some playful designs by the Swedish trio Front and the Japanese design studio Nendo to its lineup of innovative faucets and shower heads. A+A interviewed Phillippe Grohe, head of the brand about the new additions, via email:
What is the intent of the design here?
The intent is to capture different re-interpretations of showering and the shower itself. The designers can do this because we give them the freedom to develop
alternative visions of the interaction between the human being, water, and space.
The inspiration?
Nendo drew inspiration from an emotional living space outside of the bathroom – the living room, and Front took their inspiration from the technical origins of the water installation – something that is usually found behind the wall.
What are the materials, and how do they interact, for what effect?
The Axor WaterDream designed by Nendo is an installation of white- lacquered lamp showers. They elegantly underline the poetic interpretation of their Axor WaterDream. Light, shape and materiality are inspired from the living room and blur the boundaries between living and washing, emotion and function, light and water.
The Axor WaterDream designed by Front is composed of copper pipes, valves, couplings, and funnels. These structures and the copper surface achieve a visually appealing, valued spatial construct. It is all about the most archetypal aspect of the bathroom – the pipes and the installation. With this, Front pay homage to artisanry and the aesthetics inherent in technology and in the installation.
A shower or a lamp? What’s happening here?
That is exactly the point – it is neither! It is a hybrid. It is all in the eye of the beholder with this installation. Nendo intended to give the shower a sensuous dimension and free it from any spatial constraints. Therefore it could be used as a shower, a reading lamp, or both – indoors or outdoors, in the living room, or in the bathroom.
What are the challenges with a creative project like the Axor WaterDream?
As with any vision, making it a reality always bears some challenges: for one, earning the freedom to discuss and communicate beyond just the product is a challenge nowadays. We don’t take what we are able to do with Axor for granted, and we are proud that we can realize creative projects like the Axor WaterDream every now and again. In addition, it is also a challenge to continuously question and break down established patterns of behavior and spatial concepts
What about the dialogue with other design groups? Why, and what was the result?
The reason for initiating and supporting the Axor WaterDream projects is because they allow us the freedom to experiment with various aesthetic, functional and interior-design approaches. Different designers contribute with different perspectives and visions, thus creating a fruitful exchange of ideas between designer and manufacturer.
In our dialogue with other design partners we are continuously able to draw inspiration and discover unique visions because we give them the freedom to completely distance themselves from a mere product. The result is always a fantastic achievement on the communication side.
Who is the intended audience, and what are their sensibilities?
With the Axor WaterDream projects we intend to re-think and re-conceive the bathroom or bathing with different approaches. First and foremost, we initiate projects like the Axor WaterDream for a creative community of interior design and architecture aficionados, who draw inspiration from our interpretation of
the bathroom as a living space. But we also do this for our clientele – wholesalers in the sanitary industry who deal with the bathroom as a whole on a daily basis. They appreciate unique perspectives of the bathroom and bathing that go beyond their daily business of selling bathroom appliances.
For more information, go to http://www.hansgrohe-usa.com/798.htm
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