Award-winning design duo Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have been creating artful and experimental works across design and interior objects for 25 years from their East London studio. Following the launch of AXOR One, UK bathrooms are among the first to get their hands on the latest collection, which effortlessly simplifies bathroom design…
Barber and Osgerby’s first pieces of bathroom design debuted in 2015 with the boundary breaking AXOR One panel, which reimagined the shower control with the addition of push buttons. Now, the forward-thinking AXOR One collection has been broadened with an additional 31 Barber and Osgerby-designed pieces, which embody the same minimalist, clean, sculptural aesthetic while offering enhanced functionality and intuitive control.
One-hole, two-hole and three-hole taps, wall-mounted taps, a floor-standing bath filler with hand-held shower, and the AXOR One thermostatic module for bath or shower were each carefully considered by Barber and Osgerby, who reinvented several elements to create a boundary breaking brassware collection. Developed in partnership with AXOR engineers based in Germany’s Black Forest, the AXOR One’s unique Select technology introduces a streamlined mode of interaction with the brassware; water is started and stopped with an easy press down of an all-in-one single lever, while temperature is controlled with a clockwise turn. Taps have a CoolStart function, automatically set at cold for energy saving and easy, instant tooth-brushing.
“We wanted to solve the problem of the tap being left on – the traditional twist motion means they’re not always completely closed, so we updated it,’ says Jay Osgerby. ‘The AXOR One tap is much easier to use and conserve water.”
Each piece of the collection showcases Barber and Osgerby’s elegant silhouettes, soft curves and balanced proportions. The rounded tap spouts are gently tapered, while the showerhead features an abstract floral pattern which is at once beautiful and overtly functional. ‘The circular flower on the showerhead focuses and concentrates the water so you can get more power into it, creating five individual waterjets which blend together as they reach the body’ explains Ed Barber. ‘The graphic patterns add another layer of beauty when the water flows’ agrees Jay Osgerby. Both the hand held and overhead shower feature Barber and Osgerby’s optimised flower-shape which reduces water usage, and create both the fine micro droplets of AXOR’s PowderRain and classic Rain spray types.
The range is available in AXOR’s extensive FinishPlus palette of 15 finishes, which range from vibrant Polished Gold Optic to the subtler Brushed Nickel and Polished Bronze, as well as a Matt Black shade exclusive to the range and a first for the company. ‘It’s amazing how much the character of the products change with the different finishes!’ highlights Ed Barber.
“Barber and Osgerby’s additions to AXOR One flawlessly combine their striking design language with truly innovative technologies never before seen in the bathroom,” says Graeme Borchard, MD at UK Bathrooms. ‘AXOR’s Select technology means that water can now be precisely controlled with ease, saving effort, reducing water and energy wastage and sleekly presented with Barber and Osgerby’s signature design flair. Welcome to a new era of bathroom brassware.”
Next up from Barber and Osgerby is the AXOR One accessories, which is due to launch later this year. Elevating objects such as soap dispensers and mirrors into key features of the bathroom, the pieces are designed to integrate with any exiting AXOR fittings as well as the AXOR One range. “They’re very, very pure and elemental, and work really well,” hints Ed Barber.
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Main image credit: UK Bathrooms/hansgrohe
