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With its ever-evolving vision of art, sculpture, innovative shapes, and contemporary elegance, House of Rohl was at Salone del Mobile 2024 with new products from its different brands, ranging from Victoria + Albert, with its iconic freestanding bathtubs, to Perrin & Rowe, with new collections of hand-forged brass faucets.
Victoria + Albert was back in Milan to premiere Soros, a line that represents an important new creative process for the sector, with the collection developed in collaboration with British sculptor and artist Sophie-Elizabeth Thompson. These bathtubs and washbasins feature the same dynamic, flowing shapes as her sculptures, providing a stylistic cue for the Victoria + Albert in-house design team. Thompson, who specializes in working with granite, marble, bronze, ceramic, resin, and plaster, exhibits at galleries around the world. For this project, she began with the same sense of peace that’s always been essential for her work. And it’s this sense of peace that she’s translated into the design of Seros. The tub, for example, has finely sculpted lines, like the crests of waves or sand dunes. Asymmetrical, it looks different from every angle and in every light. The collection includes a countertop sink and a model available either wall mounted or freestanding, in both cases made as a single piece in QuarrycastTM, a material patented by Victoria + Albert.
“For me, the Seros collection embodies a feeling of tranquility,” says Thompson. “It conveys a sense of luxury, and the idea of treating yourself to a moment of well-deserved relaxation. It’s what you feel the moment you can close the door, light a scented candle, and enjoy a break in solitude, isolating yourself from the rest of the world to re-center yourself. In other words, it’s an invitation to let go, relax, and find complete serenity.”
Among the new Victoria + Albert products at Salone del Mobile, a standout was the Ledro bathtub, again made of QuarrycastTM. The design grew out of the question, How is it possible to reduce water consumption without sacrificing design and a luxurious experience? Using expertise gained in the fields of ergonomics and materials, the brand created a freestanding bathtub with low water consumption.
Working with BREEAM and Unified Water Label guidelines, the aim was to create a shape with an overflow capacity of just 180 liters and a usable capacity of 125 liters. Ledro is a slipper bathtub, whose internal shape lets you recline comfortably and rest your legs. None of its subtle refinements inside the tub affect the exterior design, however, which is sleek and curved.
Regarded more than ever as a room to be personalized, kitchens are increasingly attracting the attention of designers. Among the Perrin & Rowe brand products on show at the event was Southbank, inspired by mid-20th century British design as exhibited at the Festival of Britain in 1951. With perfect proportions and elegant details, this kitchen faucet is full of references to the iconic designs of the 1950s. Like the brand’s other brass products, Southbank is made at its Midlands foundry before being assembled in Rainham, just 15 miles east of London’s Royal Festival Hall, the heart of the famous exhibition. As well as a deck-mounted mixer and a single-handle faucet, options include instant hot water and filtration faucets, and a mini-tap that delivers both steaming hot water and filtered cold water. Southbank will be available from summer 2024.
More info: www.houseofrohl.desig/en
All images courtesy of House of Rohl
