Total solution

For nearly three decades, Antonio Citterio has been a quietly influential figure in the world of architecture and design. With a client base of top design firms such as B&B Italia furniture, Vitra seating, Kartell office systems and Archlinea kitchens, many of his products are regarded as modern classics.

Citterio's latest collaboration is with Hansgrohe, a company that has built a reputation for working with internationally renowned designers and architects to create leading-edge bathroom products.

In designing Hansgrohe's Axor bathroom collection, Citterio has approached the project as an architect rather than a product designer.

"If you only design the tap, then it becomes just a decoration," he says. "The real solution is to see the bathroom as a whole, not just as parts."

Not surprisingly then, Citterio delivered Hansgrohe more than just the Axor Citterio faucet range. Instead, he presented a unified bathroom concept which includes a bathtub with an integrated ledge that can house the sink, and suggested layouts to suit a range of room sizes.

Citterio says necessity and desire are the two contributing elements to his designs.

"The bathroom is no longer merely a functional space. It's also a place of pleasure and luxury," he says. "If your time is spent in a place of pleasure and wellness, you have quality of life."

The Axor Citterio range offers 70 components, including single-lever mixers, a bath faucet and overhead showers with concealed thermostatic controls. These are complemented with matching accessories, from toothbrush holder and soap dish to toilet roll holder.

In the development of the range, Citterio says he broke away from the conventional approach to faucet design.

"People think that a round shape is the perfect design for water. The water pipe is round, so they make the tap round," he says. "But it is not like that for me. Maybe the solution for the tap is not another round tube."

Instead, he has used rectangular planes and crisp edges that are in tune with a more modernist design aesthetic.

While all items in the range are available in chrome, they also come in an electroplated platinum finish similar to that used for high-quality jewelry.

As with all Hansgrohe products, this new range has been manufactured using the highest quality materials.

For further information, contact Hansgrohe USA, phone (800) 334 0455. Email: info@hansgrohe-usa.com. Website: www.hansgrohe-usa.com.

Story by: Trendsideas