As a manufacturer of innovative solutions that shape the future of bathroom design, Laufen was chosen by Purpose Design for inclusion in the Sleep Concept Hotel at the recent Sleep London event. The Sleep Concept Hotel forms a key part of the overall exhibition and invites designers to plan and build a life sized hotel room following a specific brief. This year’s brief was inspired by the nostalgia for the 1960s: transforming the show’s catwalk of hotel design into a radical contemporary Pop Art experience.
The Concept Hotel featured five rooms, or hotel areas, in total, each of them very different but all sharing a common goal: to inspire the future of hotel design and provoke discussion.
Laufen’s solid surface material, which can be used by designers to create bespoke basins, bathtubs and furniture, was incorporated into the Concept Hotel bathroom, designed by Purpose Design.
Purpose Design’s overall vision for the Sleep Concept Hotel was to showcase 3D printing and its context within hotel room design, development and procurement. Using 3D printing to fulfil the brief, Purpose Design sought to harness what pop art did for art and design in the 60s. This was achieved using a variety of 3D printed elements and objects, such as lighting.
The washbasin, manufactured by Laufen using its innovative materials and techniques, is a real statement piece, demonstrating the capabilities of the Laufen factory, this combined with a shower tray imprinted with the word ‘splash‘further illustrated the manufacturing capabilities of Laufen.
Gail Thomson, Director of Purpose Design, comments: “As part of the room set, I wanted to illustrate how a 3D printed bathroom pod may look in the future, when large scale printing technology is available. It was this concept that formed the backbone of the en-suite design. To accomplish this effect, I wanted to explore the use of a solid surface material and how it could be adapted to form any shape. Having worked with Laufen on some of our international projects, and having seen what they achieved for us previously using solid surface manufacturing, they seemed the obvious collaboration.”
The end result was a very usable and beautiful environment, in which to showcase the latest innovations in material and design from Laufen. Ilker Hussein, Manager Global Projects at Laufen, comments: “We were delighted to work with Purpose Design on their project for the Sleep Concept Hotel and were very pleased with the finished result.
“Our initial discussion with Gail was to supply a simple washbasin and WC pan, but then Gail outlined her idea of a 3D printing concept, which inspired us to give it a go! Within 2 months a simple sketch became the bathroom you see now. The scheme developed from a very organic design to a more linear creation. Our customisation team worked very closely, in great detail, to work with Gail’s creativity, pushing the boundaries of what we had ever done before. We are extremely proud to be associated with Gail and the process of realising her creativity.”
