The List’s Project Spotlight column features unparalleled projects created by our forward-thinking List members. By going straight to the source—and having the designers demystify the methods behind their designs—we hope to enlighten and inspire our creative audience to further push the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of design.
The bathrooms of tomorrow are difficult to conceptualize—our immediate thoughts tend to skew more submarine-like than functional. But Duravit’s vision, which pairs Viu ceramics, XViu furniture, and bathtub ranges by long-time collaborator Sieger Design, makes things crystal clear. Each piece in the collection pairs post-industrial elegance with sleek geometries, achieving levels of precision not typically seen in ceramic products. These fittings are well-considered, embrace technology, and give us an inkling of hope that tomorrow’s bathrooms won’t be too outlandish. We talked to Sieger Design principals Michael and Christian Sieger to learn more about the changing demands of the washroom.
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Project Description
With the Viu ceramics range, the XViu furniture range, and the matching bathtubs, Duravit and Sieger Design present a complete bathroom that exudes forward-looking design. The post-industrial elegance of the pieces emerges from the interaction of soft, organic forms with a precise geometry and details finished to a previously unattained level of perfection. Sharp contrasts arise from surfaces that combine the finest ceramics, glass and metal with matte lacquers or high-quality woods.
Uniqueness
Christian Sieger: The perfection of a product is contained in the many aspects that you only notice on the second look, e.g., the pretty inner lining of a suit jacket, the open engine compartment of a vehicle. We made that our motto with Viu/XViu. When I lie in the bathtub, I have a completely different perspective, for instance of the underside of the washbasin, and we wanted to take that into account, too. It was at the front of our mind for every last detail of the series.
Materials
Michael Sieger: For us, Viu/XViu combines a high level of modernity, precision and accuracy with a similarly high level of longevity, elegance and quality. Through the combination of ceramic and vanity unit with the c-bonded technology, we have achieved a level of precision rarely seen in ceramics, and this has really raised the bar in terms of sanitary design.
Christian: We consider Viu/XViu to have more of an industrial look, which is also expressed in its color. The marked linearity of the range is amplified by the materials and surfaces that we employed. Some of the products also sport futuristic features, without losing sight of the present. This lends the range a very strong expressive quality. For me, overall the range has a very metropolitan aesthetic.
Takeaway
Michael: With the development of Viu, we are meeting the changing demands on today’s bathroom and continuing its evolution. Over the last 10 to 15 years, the bathroom has developed into a homely space, which has also changed the requirements as regards the equipment features. A washbasin or a bathtub is now seen as more of a piece of furniture than a sanitary product. I think that with Viu/XViu we are throwing open a new door in terms of bathroom design. The range underlines the fact that the bathroom of today and the future shares characteristics with the living room and shows the direction in which we will develop.
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