Neri&Hu Design and Research Office’s Immersion Bathtub and Casali’s Cocoon Lounge have earned 2018 AZ Awards of Merit in the Architectural/Interiors Products category.
Product: Immersion Bathtub Designer: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, China
Manufacturer: Agape, Italy
The Shanghai-based office of Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu designed this deep soaking tub – with a small footprint and an outsized capacity of 305 litres – for the Italian furniture manufacturer Agape. Deeper than it is wide, Immersion takes its cues from the Japanese oforu tradition of high-walled wooden tubs that allow bathers to assume a more upright posture, submerge their entire trunks and inhale the steam rising from the water’s hot surface. With the faucet along the tub’s length, the fixture’s ends are nearly symmetrical. An inviting wood-plank seat spanning a recessed channel for the drain means bathers can sit in a variety of spots and even enjoy double occupancy.
Product: Cocoon Lounge Firm: Casali, Italy Team: Daniele Merini with Maurizio Casali and Roberto Casali
Marck Associati designer Daniele Merini’s free-standing, curved-glass system for Casali delineates a sinuous floor plan for an antechamber that encloses occupants without cutting them off from the rest of the room. Inside the lounge, a form of light therapy awaits. The tinted, transparent and nearly seamless glass walls amplify the physical sensation of any direct sunlight by adding a yellow that bathes visitors in a warm, golden glow. Casali, an Italian manufacturer with a knack for working with curved glass, makes this futuristic chill-out pod at its base in Cesenatico. Ideal clients might include a fun, perky tech start-up or a similarly informal workplace.
