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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.! L0 @, f# t$ G1 X: C' j- {
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; C. Q6 i' u6 s5 @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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You 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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8 m! V$ d. a# J7 }7 IThe Laufen Forum sits alongside the company’s headquarters and acts as a showroom and visitor centre.
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+ t+ J& H( h5 b6 J: h! dIts 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.
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" N: v% S) `$ l( j/ _4 [9 UThe 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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4 F- ~) N3 ~. j7 KThe 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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The production of the pieces still involves many manual processes and a thorough understanding of the nuances of the material./ y' n B! w1 ?$ M# V' w( V
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Laufen 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.
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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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