VOLTA

Behar describes VOLTA as “design for a changing world.” His inspiration: the new E-Kiln, the world’s first CO2-free firing kiln for sanitary ceramics at the LAUFEN site in Gmunden. Behar wanted to completely rethink the washbasin for his design: “With a washbasin, the water normally flows directly from the faucet into the waste. In nature, on the other hand, water is in motion, sometimes flowing slowly, sometimes quickly. I thought hard about how I could incorporate these physical, visual, and emotional properties of water into my project for LAUFEN. Water itself is at the heart of Yves Behar’s design. ‘The design steps aside and lets the water take centre stage,’ says Behar, describing his creative approach. ‘Our starting point in the design process was not the outer shape of the basin, but the inner one. We experimented with various methods to set the water inside the basin in motion. We discovered that it is possible to make the water circulate in a controlled manner towards the waste.”

What is radically new is that Béhar’s design no longer has the shape of a bowl. The water flows down a curved ramp that is inscribed like a spiral in the round, basic shape of the washbasin. When the waste is closed, the water collects at the foot of the ramp to form a small “pool.” This means that the entire basin does not have to be filled when washing or cleaning. The dry zones can then be used as storage areas. Another effect of the basin shape is that the rotating movement of the washer cleans the ceramic at the same time.