Laufen Swiss Architecture tour7 N) s0 X/ |6 N9 Y$ J0 U
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2 g. d; t* Y1 A* f2 gDezeen promotion: last week, Dezeen attended an architectural tour of Basel and Zurich organised by Swiss bathroom brand Laufen that included a trip to their concrete showroom designed by Nissen Wentzlaff Architects.& u$ q; k8 K. n1 x
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+ S4 d3 h( A$ E- P$ M. o: n6 h; d) ]The tour featured viewings of buildings by established Swiss architects including [url=http://www.herzogdemeuron.com/]Herzog & de Meuron and new projects by upcoming practices such as EM2N, Stump & Schibili and Buchner Bründler.
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6 {7 g, N$ R9 ]7 `. \- y+ dYou can see photos on our Facebook page from Basel and Zurich and a podcast featuring interviews with many of the architects will appear on Dezeen soon.8 { \( o7 Z4 ^; _
" y/ A, E4 P- u! z z( XThe Laufen Forum sits alongside the company’s headquarters and acts as a showroom and visitor centre.
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Its curved exterior form was inspired by one of Laufen’s most popular product ranges and was cast from concrete in a similar way to the production of ceramics. ?6 V7 `* U$ R
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The interior of the Forum is designed to encourage a flow of movement, guiding visitors through the display of products before returning them to the entrance via a sweeping staircase.
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! [3 _1 `# o/ _6 }4 |The building is almost entirely windowless but the central events area is lit by skylights punched into the roof.
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The tour also included a visit to the production facility on the same site as the Forum and headquarters, where the company has been producing wash basins, bidets and toilets for almost 120 years.
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0 S: N" ^0 o `) uThe production of the pieces still involves many manual processes and a thorough understanding of the nuances of the material.
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2 a7 m# L2 \( ELaufen collaborates with many leading designers on its product ranges including IlBagnoAlessi One (above), designed by Stefano Giavannoni, which features a wave-like form washing over the shelving unit.1 d# C8 I- H& a+ F( L" h
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The Living Square collection (above) by Stuttgart designer Andreas Dimitriadis of Platinumdesign has a shallow basin and sharply defined edges that require precise moulding.& N# U; x4 b A7 H7 x, M! }
$ [2 ?. P& Y4 }4 E# FThe Palomba Collection (above) by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba has recently been expanded to include a double-basin version featuring asymmetric ‘fingerprints’ sunk into a 1600mm flat surface.% L( }% p8 c8 I1 d, x$ s
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