Architectural Aesthetic Meets Functional Elegance in the Bath
Multi-award winning architect and product designer Patricia Urquiola has created her first bathroom collection for Duravit: Balcoon.
The Balcoon sinks, bathroom furniture, and bathtubs create a fascinating combination of modernity and timeless elegance–minimalistic yet also with a strong design identity. Central to the collection are the stunning countertop sinks which serve as sculptural focal points.
“I started with two essential forms: a cubic base and a cylindrical basin,” says Urquiola. “We then incorporated some offsets, extended the form, and played with perspectives to create an architecture that is still compatible with an affordable price point. All elements are based on this double geometry.”
Balcoon departs from the traditional minimalism of pure white or black. Instead, the collection features a natural, timeless color palette with a new ceramic color–Clay Terra Matte. The earthy terracotta shade and the nature-inspired color scheme of the bathroom furniture, with nuances of white–plus earthy shades of brown and gray–herald a new openness to color in the bathroom.
All vessel and wall-mounted sinks in the Series are available with DuraShield® protective glaze, making them easy to clean and eliminating 99% of bacteria within 24 hours.
“I’m a big fan of hybridization, transformation, and improving things that already exist. It takes courage to redesign things and think differently. I love materials and am constantly rethinking them,” notes Urquiola. “Today, working with 3D printing can optimize material waste, but I love ceramic and that ancient side of things just as much. Instead of searching for the perfect line, purity for me is perceiving design as a cycle. Time works on materials and on me… and I work with time.”
Patricia’s studio in Milan specializes in industrial design, architecture, art direction, and strategic consulting. Her work is featured in prestigious art and design museums around the world, from MoMA in New York and Philadelphia Museum of Art to Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Explore the entire Balcoon Collection here
About Duravit AG
Founded in 1817 in Hornberg in the Black Forest, Duravit AG is today a leading international manufacturer of designer bathrooms and is active in more than 130 countries worldwide. During product development, the complete bathroom supplier’s internal-design team worked hand in hand with a global network of designers such as Cecilie Manz, Philippe Starck, Antonio Citterio, Christian Werner, Sebastian Herkner and Patricia Urquiola. As an energy-intensive company, Duravit AG is aiming to be entirely climate-neutral by 2045 and avoid CO2 offsetting as far as possible.
