Rita Szabo Architekt -Switzerland
I got the assignment from the only noncorporate department store chain of Switzerland, from the Loeb, to redesign and renovate the public toilet from the store in Biel. This Project also included the modernisation of the women, men and the lavatory for disabled persons. I got the opportunity to design a public restroom, which is something new,unusual for me. I got the idea firstly for this construction, partly from the environment and partly from the shopping audience. Secondly I wanted to create such a space, where the customer doesn't get the feeling of a pestering atmosphere of a boudoir, but more likely something peaceful, pleasant and friendly.
The shape of the room wasn't really fortunate with a narrow corridor and a great ceiling height. The separation of the functional space wasn't actually challenging, because I had clear borders, but the division of the room wasn't as obvious as the functional space. I tried to break the clear straight lining of the toilet with some arcuate forms and make the room this way more friendly. I sought to break the height of the room in more stages down. So I chose a flow with a relief patterning, which with its own horizontal and vertical muster and light-shadow game divides the space and also gives the room some dynamic. I also planned a round mirror, with indirect illumination, mounted on a copper coloured board. Respectively I utilised fully height possibilities of the restroom, with the exciting, cylinder shaped, black matt lamps, which interact great with the tap and the other black matt accessory.
The curved shape of the mirrors and their copper colourd holderboard meshes nicely with the chosen Nood_Co Pill Basin and with its musk colour and curved shape. It was important to select a great quality basin, but nothing pretentious. It should be noble on its own, but also simple and I needed to pick colours and materials, which assist each other. With a neutral background (the beige flow) and with the marple veneered lavatory board put the accent and focus on the decoration elements. On the opposite side of the wall, vis-à-vis the basin, is a big mirror, which gives the illusion of a bigger space. With these refined deceptions I could enlarge the room, at least the feeling of a small, cylinder shaped and straight lining room. The warm and friendly colours, the wood, the ceramic, the metals and the proportional distribution of the materials assist the buyer, that he can spend his time without any strain and feel well by visiting this public toilette and be pleased by leaving it.
By the selection of the basin it was important to choose the right size and shape. I was happy to find the Pill Basin, because it has a practical size and also a beautiful curved shape, which perfectly matched my foreseen concept for the restroom. It was only an extra, that there was also a proper colour version of it. So could the curved shape perfectly round down and harmonise this
Project.
Tile- https://www.fioranese.it/de/bodenbelaege-und-wandfliesen/passepartout/
Fioranese – Fio. Passepartout
Axor, Starck Kollektion – Black
Lighting – https://www.vibia.com/de/int/deckenleuchten-45o-deckenleuchte#8252
Vibia – 45°
Furniture custom carpentry production
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