Ancient baths

For the 2017 Noorth collection, Lievore Altherr studio designed Azuma and Rome, two bathroom series inspired by two different aesthetics: Japan and classical Rome. Two cultures for which the bath time was, and still is, an important ritual, with precise rules. The new editions will be on show at the Brera Design District in Milan.

  They key element of the Azuma collection is inspired by the comforting world of the Japanese bathroom with its washbasins, either sit-on or free-standing, and the bathtub, made in Milltek, a white and almost ‘abstract’ material; to make it smoother and warmer the designers focused on the shapes, that evolve from a circular top part to a square shape on the bases. Wood is widely used to emphasise the concept of comfort. The collection also includes a series of wooden stools with simple volumes, which feature the same interplay of lines of the washbasins and of the bathtub.

For Roma the studio was inspired by the Mediterranean tradition. Hence, the protagonist is stone with references to Roman architecture and to the impressive spa complexes that can be found all over Europe. This coexistence of the grandeur of the places and the intimate pleasure of ablution led to a vertical round washbasin and a bathtub, both monoliths.

The quality of the materials is apparent by using stones and marbles freely, leaving them natural and variously juxtaposed in order to create combinations of different veins and surface treatments. Also for the Roma collection, mirrors, both individual and coupled, have been designed to form a screen in different heights, fitted with lighting. The collection is complemented by simple metal towel rails.

Azuma and Roma
Design: Lievore Altherr
Manufacturer: Noorth
Year: 2017

4 – 9 April 2017
Noorth at Fuorisalone
via Palermo 11, Milan