David Chipperfield creates freestanding plywood bathtub for Agape
David Chipperfield Design has developed a wooden bathtub for Italian bathroom brand Agape, featuring a pared-back form with an integrated seat, shelf and washbasin.
For its first-ever collaboration with Agape, which launched during Milan design week, the design studio of architect David Chipperfield chose to create a series of sanitaryware using okumè plywood.
The Tambre collection includes baths in two sizes, along with a family of washbasins made from the material, distinguished by its warm tone, fine grain and a high degree of water resistance.
The bathtub is constructed from flat plywood sheets that remain clearly distinct when assembled, while solid wood inserts soften the transitions between some of the parts.
All of the technical elements are concealed within the tub to maintain its streamlined silhouette, with accessible compartments seamlessly incorporated into the structure.
The collection's signature piece displays a gently curved profile that extends upwards to create a subtle backrest. The rear section of the bathtub merges with a cantilevered basin also made from plywood.
Its built-in seat allows bathers to either sit upright or fully immerse themselves in the water. And a version with a shelf and an integrated shower references the Japanese ritual of washing before immersion.
"The family develops through a gradual process of convergence," the designers pointed out. "This progression reaches its most integrated form in a configuration where bathtub and washbasin share a single volume, dissolving the boundary between functions."
Tambre takes its name from a river in Galicia – a region in northwest Spain with a long-standing bathing culture based around its thermal springs.
Pritzker Prize-winning architect Chipperfield designed and built his own holiday home in Galicia in the 1990s and established a foundation that supports the revitalisation of the region's towns and villages.
Chipperfield is known for applying his understated aesthetic to major cultural projects such as the renovation of Berlin's Neues Museum and The Hepworth Wakefield gallery in Yorkshire, England.
His design studio regularly works on products for major brands, such as a modular workstation for German furniture company e15 and a redesign of the classic Moka espresso maker for Alessi.
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