Rapsel has always had its finger on the pulse of design. Among the manufacturer’s collection of bathtubs, showers, washbasins, toilets, and bidets, one finds multiple examples of bold, breakout design. In fact, some of Rapsel’s products are so admired that they’ve become “cult objects, ” pieces that definitively characterize a time and place and thus earn the kind of admiration normally reserved for fine art.
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Barcelona Collection —
Matteo Thun’s Barcelona Collection epitomizes clean lines and functional minimalism. A tribute to Mies van der Rohe’s work with the Barcelona Pavilion, the line is comprised of five models: Ceramic, Velvet, Natural Stone, and Totem. The Velvet model features a high mineral content; Natural Stone boasts the innovative construction method of bonded slabs of choice stone; Solid is carved from a single block of stone; and Totem is a freestanding basin also carved from a single block. All Barcelona washbasins are available in wall-mounted or vanity-top styles. In sum, the line is distinguished for its “noble simplicity, silent right-angles and patented invisible drain.”
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Lola Herzburg Washbasin —
Philippe Starck’s Lola Herzburg Washbasin looks as fresh and startlingly innovative today as it did at its 1985 debut. This freestanding basin in chromed brass and stainless steel offers functional, attached accessories as part and parcel of its studied elegance: matching towel holders, soap holders, and a mirror complement the basin’s avant garde resplendence. Firmly grounded in the 1980s, yet both evoking the posh luxury of the 1920s and anticipating the millennial trend of space-saving design, the Lola Herzburg basin is an enduring achievement.
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Melting Chic Bathroom Collection —
A singular design by a singularly accomplished design duo, the Melting Chic Collection by Ludovica + Roberto Palomba is an internationally acclaimed collection with an Italian aesthetic. Melting Chic is comprised of column, container, shelf, moveable mirror, mirror cabinet, and washbasins in rosewood or stone. Rapsel offers the components in a range of materials and color combinations: solid stone in brushed charcoal, dark stone basins with rosewood vanities, and the intriguing contrast of white porcelain and graphic wood grain. The Melting Chic vanities and basins are available in freestanding or wall-mounted models. Additionally, the wash units will accommodate many of Rapsel’s tabletop basins.
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John and Mary WC and Bidet —
The matching John and Mary watercloset and bidet illustrate two of Rapsel’s definitive qualities—the company’s demand for high quality, attractive product (regardless of the context) and their excellent sense of humor. Designed by Luigi Ferrario and Studio Rapsel, John and Mary is an homage to the later era of the Mid Century Modern. Both pieces are in solid stainless steel and beech wood or wengè, and together they represent a refreshing antidote to cold, contemporary bathroom design. John and Mary evoke the heyday of Scandinavian Design while showcasing these oft under-appreciated elements of the bathroom.
Rapsel’s bathroom collections have always appealed to those with discerning tastes. As we enter this second decade of the new millennium, the company has shown that they continue to be on the leading edge of contemporary design. Longtime collaborations with renowned designers like Philippe Starck and Shiro Kuramata demonstrate that Rapsel continues to prize high quality and aesthetic innovation: “these are not only objects of bathroom design and mere appearance, but they are functional and from the technical point of view perfectly made… they are a tangible sign of what the future of domestic design is going to be.”
