Axor, the design brand of Hansgrohe SE, recently unveiled a new vision of freedom in industrial design at Fuorisalone 2015 – a universal fixture base that allows bespoke spout designs to be attached using an easy click-in system.

For several years, Axor has been dealing with the question of how best to achieve the greatest freedom in industrial design. Together with ECAL, the renowned University of Art and Design in Lausanne, Switzerland, the design brand has developed conceptual answers to this question, and moreover, produced crafted and hand-blown glass spouts – the Axor WaterDream 2015.

“With ECAL we found a creative partner who approached our Axor WaterDream project with great passion and an artistic spirit,” Philippe Grohe, Head of Axor, explains. „Our technical innovation, a new fixture base, served as the starting point for the design students in creating their own, personal spouts. We are now very much looking forward to presenting the result of our collaboration to a design-savvy audience in Milan“. And Alexis Georgacopoulos, Director of ECAL adds: “We regularly receive the opportunity to work with world-famous brands – especially in the field of industrial design. The Axor WaterDream project is a perfect example because it has allowed our students to conceptually experiment with what they have learned, without losing sight of the innovation.”

Complete Freedom in Design with the Axor U-Base

The key to this new freedom in industrial design is the Axor U-Base – an innovative fixture base that provides the quality of an industrially produced product. From standardized spouts to bespoke original pieces – the latter of which are supported by the Axor Manufaktur, an exclusive service area within the Hansgrohe production facilities – the Axor U-Base allows countless combination possibilities.

The Axor WaterDream

For more than 20 years now Axor has been developing alternative visions for the bathroom as a living space. In this regard, the focus is also on providing additional scope for creative development, for breaking down established behavior patterns, and for conducting an open, interdisciplinary dialogue – with internationally renowned design partners such as Jean-Marie Massaud, Patricia Urquiola, the Bouroullec brothers, Front or Nendo. Bachelor and Master Students of ECAL now join these ranks with their own personal Axor WaterDream.

About ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne

Enjoying international renown and featured regularly among the world’s top ten universities of art and design, ECAL is directed by Alexis Georgacopoulos. The school currently offers six Bachelor programs (Fine Arts, Cinema, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Media & Interaction Design, Photography), five Master programs (Art Direction, Fine Arts, Film, Integrated Innovation for Product & Business Development, Product Design) and two Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship and in Design Research for Digital Innovation (with EPFL+ECAL Lab). ECAL also offers a one-year Foundation Course to prepare students for entrance to the different Bachelor’s programs.