DURAVIT, a leading global bathrooms specialist, has partnered with leading designers to introduce some innovative solutions for the bathroom that can be integrated into nearly any room layout.

The focus of the German company has been on developing functional and aesthetic products that are minimalistic in terms of design to allow room for individuality.

Reduced design can be applied to even the smallest of spaces, with sophisticated details, says a company official.

Working from this basic concept, Duravit worked with Philippe Starck to create the St Trop steam shower and with EOOS to produce the OpenSpace shower partition and Inipi B sauna concepts.

St Trop is a steam shower that has been systematically reduced to the essentials. A simple rectangle, it has a footprint of no more than 1 sq m. When designing the steam shower, Starck was inspired by the idea of a painting: the door is like the frame surrounding a large painting. The white background forms the canvas. The person taking a shower becomes the motif, creating a work of natural beauty. Continuing the artistic theme, the stool made of heat-resistant material is a sculpture in its own right. St Trop combines the advantages of a fully-fledged shower with a relaxing steam bath.

The OpenSpace shower partition is only there when it is needed as it can be conveniently folded away after use. This not only opens up the space visually but enhances freedom of movement. This new form of spatial efficiency is made possible by a frame in matt chrome. There are two large, optionally mirrored glass doors fitted into the frame. They conceal not only the tap fittings but also the bathroom essentials. The innovative OpenSpace design concept has already secured a number of design awards.

Meanwhile, the Inipi B sauna has a footprint of about 120 by 120 cm and offers a comfortable amount of space for one person.

“The sauna concept was inspired by the ‘sweat lodges’ of the North American Lakota Indians, whose rituals included heating stones strewn with herbs in a fire before carrying them into the tent,” says a spokesman for Duravit.

“In Inipi B, the symbol of the stone is found in the control panel, which is used to individually control the sauna temperature, timer for the heater and a digital hourglass. Water is poured over the hot stones at the push of a button inside the sauna. Thanks to the concealed technology, the cabin itself has an extraordinarily clear and transparent design. The compact design and minimalist form of the Inipi B mean it is possible to experience wellness even in the smallest of bathrooms,” he adds.