Axor Starck Axor Citterio Axor Citterio M Axor Urquiola ... - Hansgrohe

“When it comes to technical innovation, Hansgrohe is a
company with long-standing tradition. When did the area
of design become part of this? Was it a logical consequence?
Axor was established in 1993 but even before that time, Hansgrohe had
already produced technically impressive products. Showers and faucets.
Of course, these also looked good. In other words, design has always
been a key focus at Hansgrohe. By exchanging ideas with other designers,
we wanted to complement our ideas on the bathroom of the future with
visions, lifestyles and trends that go beyond the product. That gives life
and emotions to the room. This is something that we cannot do alone.
And it is something that cannot be achieved by just one designer.
Therefore, we work with several creative designers.
You have already commissioned the services of many
prestigious designers. Do you appoint a new designer
for each collection?
We now partner with multiple international designers and architects with
whom we hold regular open discussions. Some have already developed
two or three collections with us.
How much freedom do you give to the designers?
We put our full trust in our designers’ visions and powers of innovation.
When we first collaborated with one of the most famous designers of our
time, we truly experienced the big bang. The first complete bathroom with
faucets, showers, sinks and bathtub was created from a single designer.
Philippe Starck’s bathroom. It was a revolution.
Since then, has it been about more than just faucets?
That’s right. It’s about the entire room, an atmosphere and above all, a new
way of looking at life and how we use water in the bathroom. This is why
it’s advantageous if our designers are also interior designers or
architects. In addition to the faucets and showers, we also work
with them to develop sinks, bathtubs, accessories and, of course,
comprehensive bathroom solutions.
You look for designers with different, sometimes even
highly conflicting, styles and attitudes. What do you
regard as fruitful collaboration with creative minds?
For Axor, the designer’s vision is at the forefront. Designers should
develop their own personal bathroom. We do not regard them as
suppliers, but as creative partners with whom we can exchange ideas
as equals. During this process, each of the partners offers their own
expertise. From our perspective, this is our water and industrial
bathroom expertise as well as a certain design culture.
To what extent have the requirements for bathrooms
changed over the last few years and decades?
The bathroom is changing from a place of hygiene to a place for
living. This is partly attributable to our lifestyle habits. In the past, we
had extremely close ties to nature. Now, our lives are dominated by
an urban world and hectic everyday situations. We therefore have
a growing need for a sense of tranquility and a natural experience.
More and more people are discovering the bathroom as a place
for relaxation and wellbeing. And it is not without a little pride that
we believe we have made an important contribution to this. Antonio
Citterio once said that we only have to stand under the shower for
30 seconds to get clean. So why do we shower for three or five minutes?
Because it changes how we feel afterwards. Showering is like doing an
hour of yoga. However, wellbeing also means using a great deal of water,
which naturally poses a major technical challenge for us. After all, one
thing is clear: We have to conserve the precious commodity of water.
And so, we are certainly not going to get bored.
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