The bathroom of the future

WORDS Debbie Loots

In a 21st-century in which space, time and natural resources are experiencing massive constraints, it’s time to redefine the bathroom says Philippe Grohe. Hansgrohe’s designer brand Axor’s main man, Philippe was the driving force behind the WaterDream project that we featured in the new SPRINGLOADED VISI 68. Recently he was in Joburg to launch the Hansgrohe Inspiration Centre in Kramerville and the Starck Organic range of designer bathroom products. VISI chatted to him about life, butterflies and beautiful bathrooms.

When you were a child, what did you want to grow up to be?

That’s a difficult question! My grandfather was a doctor in Switzerland and when I was a little boy, I often visited his office. I was always so intrigued by all the prescriptions and receipts lying around and one day, I scratched out his title on one of the cards and replaced it with what I wanted to be one day – a researcher of insects. I love research! But today, although I have a scientific and photographic background, I don’t run around with a white shirt and net chasing butterflies anymore. I still do research in a way though – through travelling a lot and really taking in all the amazing things around me.

What is a good bathroom to you?

In today’s society, where we have to make do with less space and people are on a budget, I think the absolute minimum requirement is a good shower. One that evokes maximum emotion with minimum stress on natural resources, in this case water. In other words, getting the best feeling from using the least amount of water. Today’s bathroom is not the same as some decades ago when it was purely a hygienic and functional space. Modern ablutions are often small these days and they somehow have to manage a combination between nature and technology. Water is a very demanding element that needs to be respected and controlled. We are in fact highly functional animals who mostly live in cities where things move faster and on tight schedules. It’s not natural. It’s demanding. Thus, the modern bathroom should incorporate nature through intelligent use of natural light in economical shared home spaces to maximise emotional benefits and help balance the demands of modern life. 

What do you do in the business?

I am responsible for Hansgrohe’s luxury designer brand, Axor. I function as a type of bridge between the company and the creatives we work with on experimental projects like the Axor WaterDreams (read more about it in the SPRINGLOADED VISI 68). I have to fight for that kind of freedom in the company, as there are always questions about how much money creative projects generate for the business and how viable they are. It all inspires the team though and together we explore the possibilities of new concepts and design.

Tell us about the Hansgrohe Inspiration Centre.

Water is a commodity that must be respected. It’s a global phenomenon that most people don’t realise the value of water enough. They do what their parents have always done: start their day by opening a tap, the same kind that’s always been there, in the same way, expecting the same thing. We have researched the water and the bathroom issue extensively. Lifestyles need to change. We have to question the meaning of the house, learn to value what is important to us. Bourgeois 20th-century ideas of neatly compartmentalising space into sleeping, living and washing areas need to change. Once people start thinking creatively about their living spaces, a lot of new possibilities will open up then, like combining it with a gym, a garden, etc. The Inspiration Centre is just that, a place that will inspire people to think of their living spaces as experiences in ambience as well as being highly functional. It’s for everybody, from interior designers and architects to people who want to create their own perfect bathroom.

How is the new Axor Starck Organic range special?

It’s simply a new cocktail made up of the highest technology and creative design, and it does exactly what we at Hansgrohe strive to do – getting the best out of it while treating it with respect. The Axor Starck Organic range works with half the quantity of water than usual taps! It’s an intelligent, environmentally conscious, ergonomically designed product with handles integrated into the body of the spout. We have been collaborating with Philippe Starck for 20 years now and over time we have gotten to know each other well, and know how to work with one another’s strengths and limitations. Philippe pushes you and addresses new product designs with a buoyant freshness, like a kid (see Philippe talk about his Axor Starck Organic range here).

What inspires you?

Everything, frankly. I am privileged to be able to travel often and I have learnt that one has to look at the smallest things in order to see everything. It’s how we observe things that bring us inspiration. This can happen in the most unexpected places and with the strangest of things. 

www.hansgrohe.co.za

Read more about the pioneering WaterDream project with Scandinavian design trio Front and Japanese topical Japanese design studio Nendo in the SPRINGLOADED VISI 68 available at selected stockists or get the digital edition right now. 

See more of our coverage of the budding Kramerville design district here.