Laufen Swiss Architecture tour
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Dezeen 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.3 Q1 [$ F" ~4 L4 y$ w0 Q
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t3 T5 g/ z4 H' W: Z* {' aThe 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.& w. t% f8 R4 o+ s9 k: ]+ l Y
1 g6 a1 B4 M. _1 G; M8 B6 SYou 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.
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0 s( ^+ w; O# G$ d! C bThe Laufen Forum sits alongside the company’s headquarters and acts as a showroom and visitor centre.: j4 g6 U/ X- S/ z
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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.% s. |6 i/ e/ X3 L
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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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The building is almost entirely windowless but the central events area is lit by skylights punched into the roof.
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. O. \5 f4 l% D* f% }0 VThe 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.% V. o7 A4 C7 ^
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The production of the pieces still involves many manual processes and a thorough understanding of the nuances of the material.0 U2 l) b6 m% w c4 _; A( d
( `+ f) j0 h- S6 O& c1 LLaufen 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.
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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.6 R/ W' Z- o9 L
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The 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.
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