EVERY BATHROOM NEEDS A DREAM

DESIGNER VISIONS FOR YOUR BATHROOM

Introduction "When it comes to technical innovation, Hansgrohe is a company with long-standing tradition. When did the area of design become part of this? Was it a logical consequence? Axor was established in 1993 but even before that time, Hansgrohe had already produced technically impressive products. Showers and faucets. Of course, these also looked good. In other words, design has always been a key focus at Hansgrohe. By exchanging ideas with other designers we wanted to complement our ideas on the bathroom of the future with visions, lifestyles and trends that go beyond the product. That gives life and emotions to the room. This is something that we cannot do alone. And it is something that cannot be achieved by just one designer. We therefore work with several creative designers. You have already commisioned the services of many prestigious designers. Do you appoint a new designer for each collection? We now partner with multiple international designers and architects with whom we hold regular open discussions. Some have already developed two or three collections with us. How much freedom do you give to the designers? We put our full trust in our designers' visions and powers of innovation. When we first spoke to one of the most famous designers of our time, we truly experienced the big bang. The first complete bathroom with faucets, showers, sinks and bathtub was created from a single source. Philippe Starck's bathroom. It was a revolution. Since then, has it been about more than just faucets? That's right. It's about the entire room, an atmosphere and above all, a new way of looking at life and how we use water in the bathroom. This is why Philippe Grohe, head of the Axor brand and grandson of the company founder it's advantageous if our designers are also interior designers or architects. In addition to the faucets and showers, we also work with them to develop the sinks, bathtubs, accessories and, of course, comprehensive bathroom solutions. You look for designers with different, sometimes even highly conflicting, styles and attitudes. What do you regard as fruitful collaboration with creative minds? For Axor, the designer's vision is at the forefront. Designers should develop their own personal bathroom. We do not regard them as suppliers, but as creative partners with whom we can exchange ideas as equals. During this process, each of the partners offers their own expertise. From our perspective, this is our water and industrial bathroom expertise as well as a certain design culture. To what extent have the requirements for bathrooms changed over the last few years and decades? The bathroom is changing from a place of hygiene to a place for living. This is partly attributable to our lifestyle habits. In the past, we had extremely close ties to nature. Now, our lives are dominated by an urban world and hectic everyday situations. We therefore have a growing need for a sense of tranquility and a natural experience. More and more people are discovering the bathroom as a place for relaxation and wellbeing. And it is not without a little pride that we believe we have made an important contribution to this. Antonio Citterio once said that we only have to stand under the shower for 30 seconds to get clean. So why do we shower for three or five minutes? Because it changes how we feel afterwards. Showering is like doing an hour of yoga. However, wellbeing also means using a great deal of water, which naturally poses a major technical challenge for us. After all, one thing is clear: we have to conserve the precious commodity of water. And so, we are certainly not going to get bored. " 01

THE AXOR DESIGNERS Philippe Starck · Interior and general designer · Born in Paris, France in 1949 · Founded the company "Starck Product" in 1979 · His partners include Kartell, Alessi, Duravit, Driade, Fossil and Cassina · Projects: Yoo Apartments, motor yacht A, Café Costes in Paris, Hotel St. Martins Lane in London · Collaboration with Axor since 1992 Antonio Citterio · Architect and designer · Born in Meda, Italy in 1950 · Opened his first office in Milan in 1972 · His partners include B&B Italia, Vitra, Kartell, Arclinea, Artemide and Flos · Projects: Bulgari Hotels & Resorts in Milan and Bali, W Hotel in Milan · Collaboration with Axor since 2001 Phoenix Design · Founded in Germany in 1987 by Tom Schönherr (born 1954) and Andreas Haug (born 1946) · Product design studios in Stuttgart and Tokyo · Their partners include Loewe, Sharp, Siemens, Miele, Lamy, Gira and Duravit · Collaboration with Hansgrohe for 40 years

Axor Designers Jean-Marie Massaud · Designer · Born in Toulouse, France in 1966 · Founded the Studio Massaud in 2000 together with the architect Daniel Pouzet · His partners include Cassina, Porro, Cacharel, Poliform and Poltrona Frau · Projects: Chivas football stadium and Life Reef apartments in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tanabe House in Fukuoka/Japan · Collaboration with Axor since 2004 Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec · Designers · Born in Quimper, France in 1971 and 1976 · Joint studio in Paris since 1999 · Their partners include Vitra, Kvadrat, Cappellini, Ligne Roset, Kartell and Alessi · Projects: Floating House, exhibits in the Galerie Kreo in Paris, Kvadrat Showroom in Stockholm and Copenhagen, Restaurant Dos Palillos in Casa Camper in Berlin · Collaboration with Axor since 2004 Patricia Urquiola 02_03 · Architect and designer · Born in Oviedo, Spain in 1961 · Own design studio in Milan since 1998 · Her partners include Moroso, Molteni, B&B Italia, Driade, Flos and Emu · Projects: Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Barcelona, W Hotel Vieques Island in Puerto Rico · Collaboration with Axor since 2004

MAKING OF A COLLECTION USING AXOR MASSAUD AS AN EXAMPLE The French designer Jean-Marie Massaud is among the leading representatives of the nature-inspired design. He often finds the models for his designs and architecture in nature. There is no disputing that the "Truffle" lounge chair resembles a natural truffle. His latest masterpiece, the Mexican "Chivas" football stadium, harmoniously blends into the volcanic landscape.

Making of a Collection In Jean-Marie Massaud's idea of the perfect bathroom, the resident brings the experience of nature into the home. In this regard, the designer first designed the room and then, in a second stage, the products whose design complements the idea of the nature-inspired room. The complete bathroom collection has therefore been designed in the characteristic organic style: pebbles, branches, logs and grasses inspire an extraordinary collection. The body of the most striking product, the single-hole faucet, resembles a blade of grass. In addition to the faucet, sink and bathtub, nature has also provided the inspiration for the accessories. The towel rack cites Massaud's philosophy as a branching tree, the vase celebrates the ritual use of water and the box and the candlestick resemble pebbles that would caress the hand. 04_05 Massaud manifested the philosophy that a faucet's technical aspects should be hidden in the background. So what does a faucet look like if it is more than just a tap? "What Massaud presented to us," commented Philippe Grohe, "was absolutely futuristic, and a little crazy." But most of all, it was simply brilliant. Axor therefore did everything it could to turn his idea into a reality. "To make the water flow quietly and smoothly out of the faucet's spout we had to completely redesign the interior workings," Horst Flieger, Head of the Hansgrohe Research and Development department, remembers. To create this elegant water jet, the experts at the Hansgrohe spray laboratory had to incorporate highly sophisticated technology into the extremely flat plate. The result is clear: a faucet from which a beautiful waterfall flows.

NATURE-INSPIRED DESIGN - FROM FAUCETS TO TOWEL RACKS

Making of a Collection 06_07

WATERDREAM More than one hundred years of experience and over thirty years of intensive collaboration with the world's best designers and architects enable us to realize new approaches and collections for bathrooms of the future. No other brand is able to claim such design competence and product quality as Axor, the designer brand of the Hansgrohe company. Even beyond the current collections, Axor plays a major role in co-designing the future of the bathroom. The Axor WaterDream project forms an impressive starting point for creative exchanges with renowned designers, interior designers and architects such as Patricia Urquiola, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Phoenix Design and Jean-Marie Massaud. WaterDream allows the designers complete creative freedom - free from the typical constraints of product design. Accordingly, visionary, entirely varied product-room interpretations and life scenarios evolve - or simply ideas which completely redefine the bathroom as living space. Jean-Marie Massaud Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec