bathrooms

Promotion: drawing on the aesthetic of the film Blade Runner, architect Tristan Auer has designed a neon-lit bathroom concept for Axor to suit an imagined male client.

Auer created the concept as part of the German brand’s Distinctive project, which tasks some of the world’s leading architects with creating highly individual bathrooms.
Auer was free to design whatever he wanted, but had his imagination sparked by a suggestion in the brief that the bathroom sit in a high-rise apartment in Hong Kong.
Tristan Auer’s bathroom concept was partly inspired by the aesthetic of Blade Runner”You know Blade Runner from Ridley Scott? Hong Kong is like that — something that is building on top of itself. Different layers,” he said.
“You have the crowd on the street level, and then, as you elevate, it’s more and more futuristic. It’s why I combine old antiques pieces with very modern textures.”

From this starting point, Auer developed a dark bathroom that combines reflective stainless steel elements with neon lighting and a mix of different travertine stones.
He wanted to give the bathroom a masculine feel with ’80s touchesAxor’s Edge faucets, designed by Jean-Marie Massaud, further fuelled his worldbuilding around the design, as he says their diamond-cut pyramidal pattern reminds him of an 80s icon, the ST Dupont lighter.
“I don’t smoke, but I like to touch. So that sets the stage — Dupont, those colors, those ambiances,” he said, explaining that, in combination with the “masculine” travertine, it helped him to build a picture of his imagined client.
“It’s for a man. Definitely selfish. The guy is only thinking about himself. He likes to collect. He’s a hedonist.”
The pattern on the Axor Edge faucets fuelled Auer’s imaginationAs well as the Axor Edge washbasin faucet and freestanding bath faucet, Auer’s bathroom features the Axor ShowerHeaven and Axor Edge thermostat in the shower and Philippe Starck’s ultramodern Axor Universal rectangular accessories.
They all have a polished gold optic finish, which adds to the bold and moodily space-age look of the bathroom.
“Axor Edge is great, and not only because Jean-Marie is a good friend,” said Auer. “I would have liked to have designed it before him!”
The Axor Edge tapware is by Jean-Marie MassaudAuer describes himself as an “interior and emotion” architect, because of how he reads and interprets his clients’ wishes, drawing inspiration from them rather than imposing his own style.
He started his career with French interior designer and architect Christian Liaigre, who worked wholly bespoke at the time, and says he learned to design everything down to the door handle.
Auer mixed layers of modern elements and antique pieces in the bathroom concept”I know the artisans,” he said. “I know the process. And individualisation is very interesting because, for me, that’s luxury, to have something made for you.”
Individualisation of living spaces is the focus of Axor’s Distinctive project, for which Auer and fellow architects Sarah Poniatowski and Hadi Teherani have all designed highly personalised bathrooms.
Axor sees individualisation as a growing trend, with people seeking more personal expressions of style following decades of globalisation and standardisation.
To view more of Axor’s products, visit its website.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen for Axor as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Promotion: interior designer Sarah Poniatowski has drawn on her connection to the French seaside to create a tranquil bathroom concept for Axor combining teal tiles, teak wood and bronze fittings.

Poniatowski, the founder of Maison Sarah Lavoine, designed the concept as part of Axor’s Distinctive project, which presents personalised bathroom ideas from leading architects and designers.
The Paris-based designer answered the brief with a coastal indoor-outdoor bathroom, referencing the place where she feels most connected with nature.
Sarah Poniatowski’s seaside bathroom concept for Axor includes an outdoor shower”I have a deep connection with the south-west region of France,” Poniatowski said. “It’s so authentic, and nature is everywhere. It’s the most relaxing place in the world for me.”
“The goal was to emphasise the surroundings with an indoor-outdoor bathroom and create a relaxing space with a summer holiday feeling.”

Poniatowski’s concept includes an outdoor shower area that flows on from the main bathroom, where multiple doorways, large mirrors and louvre windows allow in plentiful light and enhance the feeling of being immersed in nature.
The design combines raw pine and teak wood with a travertine stone washbasinWood floorboards and panelling along the walls and ceiling give the space a cabin-like feel, but one enlivened by Poniatowski’s material and colour combinations.
Along with raw pine wood panelling and teak frames, the interior features a travertine bathtub and washbasin, teak tiling and, in the indoor shower, a feature section of multicoloured Zellige tiles that introduce blocks of deep purple and pale pink.
Poniatowski describes it as “a place where you can daydream yet relax, be creative yet stand still, enjoy the outside while being in your very own bubble”.
The indoor shower features multicoloured tiles”It’s all about balance,” she said. “Hence the choice to play with contrasts.”
Poniatowski completed her bathroom concept with Axor’s Starck fittings, designed by Philippe Starck, in the brushed bronze FinishPlus surface finish.
The fittings include the Axor Starck Nature Shower outdoors, another slender shower column indoors, two faucets on the washbasin and a floorstanding faucet at the tub.
The bathroom is completed with Axor Starck fittings in brushed bronzePoniatowski sees the tapware as creating another opportunity to bring balance through contrast, with the Starck designs having linear, contemporary forms and smooth finishes that punctuate the organic-looking bathroom surfaces.
“The design of the Axor Starck collection is very distinctive,” she said. “It was important to create a setting in line with it: emphasise it but don’t overwhelm it, and vice versa.”
Poniatowski created her concept bathroom to suit an imagined personality who loves to travel and appreciates a fast-paced life while also knowing when to stand still and contemplate.
The fittings provide a contrast to the raw and natural materialsShe designed it as part of Axor’s Distinctive project, which explores the rise of individualisation in personal living spaces via concept designs and discussions with experts and partners.
The brand sees the trend as a response to decades of globalisation and standardisation, with people now seeking more personal expressions of luxury and style.
“No one is the same, and this is what I love about my job — meeting people and creating something like nothing before,” said Poniatowski.
To view more of Axor’s products, visit its website.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen for Axor as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

Read more: More