Metropolis: Architecture and Design at All Scales

ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN AT ALL SCALES

Kitchens and Baths New Releases from KBIS and IBS 2020

KOVA’s Building Tech K&B Showcase

CONTENTS p. 6

p. 14

p. 24

IN THIS ISSUE  4 PRODUCTS Good Form 6 Flooring 10 Hydro-Planes 12

SHOWCASE Plant Based 18 Student Services 20 Playing House 22 Bare Necessities 24 Soft Industry 26 SPECULATION The Hospitable Kitchen 28

On the cover: A hotel room at the Calile Hotel in Brisbane, Australia (p. 26), designed by Richards & Spence.

Photo courtesy Sean Fennessy

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY KOVA, COURTESY AXOR, COURTESY MICHAEL VAHRENWALD/ESTO

TECHNOLOGY Fast Track(ing) 14

CHAIRMAN & CEO, SANDOW Adam I. Sandow PRESIDENT, SANDOW Erica Holborn

EDITORIAL

PUBLISHING

EDITOR IN CHIEF Avinash Rajagopal

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Jerry L. Croft

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Samuel Medina

ART DIRECTOR Travis M. Ward

MANAGING EDITOR Lila Allen ASSOCIATE EDITOR Akiva Blander MARKETING EDITOR Ethan Tucker COPY EDITOR Benjamin Spier RESEARCH EDITOR Leilah Stone

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info@metropolismag.com 917.934.2800 VICE PRESIDENT OF CREATIVE OPERATIONS Michael Shavalier DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE OPERATIONS Keith Clements DIRECTOR OF MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION Fern E. Meshulam SANDOW was founded by visionary entrepreneur, Adam Sandow, in 2003 with the goal of building a truly innovative media company that would reinvent the traditional publishing model. Today, SANDOW is a fully integrated solutions platform powering innovation for the design and luxury industries. Its diverse portfolio of design media and technology companies include Interior Design, Luxe Interiors + Design, Metropolis, Galerie, and NewBeauty. Materials Innovation brands include global materials consultancy, Material ConneXion, and game-changing material sampling, logistics, and sustainability platform, Material Bank. SANDOW brands also include a research and strategy firm, ThinkLab. In 2019, SANDOW was selected by the New York Economic Development Corporation to become the official operator of NYCxDESIGN, beginning in 2020. SANDOW.COM

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IN THIS ISSUE

The gender-neutral bathroom inthe new student center of the Rhode Island School of Design (p. 20)

As we enter a new decade of the 21st century, certain currents in American kitchens and baths have reached maturity. Open-concept kitchens are the norm, with islands and counter-height seating reigning supreme.

Bathrooms have turned into wellness centers, with the luxuries of rain-style showers or aromatherapy worked into even the tightest urban apartment. As the new releases at this year’s Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (“Good Form,” p. 6) attest, there is seemingly boundless innovation in materials and finishes. And from deconstructed kitchens to gender-neutral bathrooms (“Showcase,” p. 18) designers have found brilliant ways to adapt these products and ideas to the needs of our time.

But a revolution is brewing on the less-glamorous trade side of the home design and renovation industry.

KOVA, a new brand from construction startup Katerra, presents its smart, modular, and sustainable systems at the International Builders Show this month (“Fast Track(ing),” p. 14). Backed by a digitized workflow system, every RFID-tagged product is intended to fit seamlessly into a project, and can be easily repaired or replaced in the event of a renovation. The implications for efficiency and sustainability in the design and construction of kitchens and baths—indeed, any kind of space—are exciting.

KOVA will hopefully be the first of many such disruptors who will challenge the norms of design and construction, and move us towards the sustainable future we desperately need. —Avinash Rajagopal, editor in chief

samuel-heath.com/us (212) 696 0050 Made in England 4

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KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

COURTESY © BRUCE DAMONTE/COURTESY WORKAC

Time for Change

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PRODUCTS Good Form A sense of sophistication prevails even among the most tech-forward kitchen and bath products at KBIS this year.

By Lila Allen and Vicky Su

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“My heritage is rooted in arts, humanities, and beauty. I strive to extend it to others through each piece we create,” says Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, reflecting on his New Classic collection for Swiss bathroom manufacturer LAUFEN. The line, which comprises sinks, toilets, a bidet, and a bathtub, as well as bathroom furniture and accessories, is distinguished by its fine architectural lines and subtle curvature—features inspired by the rational forms heralded during the neoclassical era. “In a way, it is a 6

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reinterpretation of classic styles in a contemporary guise,” Wanders tells Metropolis.

The collection embodies much of what designers bring to KBIS this year: products that have all the functionality made possible by innovations in materials (LAUFEN’s collection pulls off those handsome curves through SaphirKeramik), but with a particular sensitivity to formal refinement. In today’s kitchens and bathrooms we expect efficiency, but without sacrificing an elevated aesthetic.

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01 THE NEW CLASSIC This collection highlights the possibilities of SaphirKeramik—a lightweight, durable, and recyclable ceramic that requires few raw materials during production.

LAUFEN laufen.com 02 LINEAR DRAIN These drains, now available in a matte black finish, can be useful in barrier-free bathrooms for residents who plan to age in place or in hotels where every usable square foot counts.

INFINITY DRAIN infinitydrain.com

03 AQUAOTTO TOWEL BAR This 32-inch wall-mounted towel bar complements Lacava’s Aquaotto range of porcelain sinks. It is available in brushed or polished steel, and in matte black and brushed brass finishes.

LACAVA lacava.com 04 EDGE Every object in this collection of faucets and shower fixtures designed by Jean-Marie Massaud is precisely sculpted using a diamond-tipped cutting machine.

AXOR axor-design.com

05 COSTREL WALL-MOUNTED VANITY This collection from Jeffrey Alexander offers five sizes and many finishes, so designers can create the focal point they need.

HARDWARE RESOURCES hardwareresources.com 06 NIKI KNOBS A simple geometric doorware solution for modern spaces, Niki has fully concealed fixing and is mounted on a round rose. A variety of finishes are available.

DESIGNER DOORWARE designerdoorware.com.au KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

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PRODUCTS Good Form

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07 STEAMPUNK BAY In an era when machines ran on steam, gauges were essential equipment. Now they are a way to conceal modern technologies like ceramic disk cartridges and thermostatic valves.

CALIFORNIA FAUCETS calfaucets.com

09 LEVEL CORTEN SLAB Corten, which mimics the popular oxidized metal, is a new option among Level’s large-format porcelain slabs. Being impervious and heat-resistant, it is ideal for kitchen applications.

EMILGROUP emilgroup.it

08 200 SERIES The 24-inch-wide oven, combi-steam oven, combi-microwave oven, coffee machine, and warming drawer in this series can be combined in any configuration on a wall or under a counter.

GAGGENAU gaggenau.com

10 DISHWASHER WITH CRYSTALDRY Bosch’s 800 and Benchmark series of dishwashers now have a patented technology that gently circulates hot air during the drying cycle, so dishes come out perfectly dry—even plasticware.

BOSCH bosch-home.com/us

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11 GLASS RINSER Another example of professional-grade hospitality fixtures coming to home kitchens, this glass rinser uses water jets to clean out anything from baby bottles to wineglasses.

DELTA deltafaucet.com

COURTESY THE MANUFACTURERS

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12 GLASS ESSENTIALS These easy-to-maintain tiles are suitable for many applications around the home.

Pictured here are 3.5" x 12" rectangular tiles in midnight with a glossy finish.

ISLAND STONE islandstone.com 13 48" DUAL FUEL PROFESSIONAL RANGE Fitted out with five dual-flow burners and a touch screen for cooking guidance, this 48" range brings masterchef functionality home.

FISHER & PAYKEL fisherpaykel.com

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14 BUILD YOUR TRUE True Residential’s customization program allows designers to mix and match a variety of finishes for their appliances, including the dramatic matte black option pictured here.

TRUE RESIDENTIAL true-residential.com

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15 LADYLUX L2 This GROHE favorite has been updated with an elegant tapered base and a host of features including blade, stream, and shower spray options.

GROHE grohe.us 16 BUILT-IN FULLY AUTOMATIC COFFEE MACHINE With settings for eight personalized beverages and a coffee sensor that adapts grinding time to each one, this appliance should satisfy even the most discerning coffee connoisseurs.

THERMADOR thermador.com KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

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PRODUCTS

FLOORING Tart Tessellation Vividly colored boat sails in the Sydney harbor, bicolored frosting on neenish tarts, and colorways of Australian flora are highlights of designer Pietta Donovan’s childhood nostalgia, which she elegantly pieces together in a new collection for tile manufacturer Walker Zanger. This assortment of handmade ceramic and cement tiles—offered in a range of pastels, neutrals, and bold hues—is fitting for floors and walls in interior and exterior spaces. The pieces can be rotated and flipped to form designs reminiscent of 1970s psychedelic wallpaper or the zippy prints of 1980s textiles. “The final color palette was painstakingly considered and carefully matched between the two different materials so that they could be used seamlessly together,” says Donovan. “I’m excited to see how designers and homeowners express their own visions with these tiles.” —Vicky Su

Milan-based designer Paola Lenti brings her expert use of color to the Aegonos collection for Italian surface company Galleria Elena.

These ethereal tiles are mostly made of a contemporary reinterpretation of cocciopesto, a durable and moisture-resistant material common during the Renaissance.

Natural pigments were added to the material to create a unique constellation of metallic hues. “Every time we begin the process of creating something new, it’s a journey we take with an open mind,” says Lenti. “After a great deal of trial and error, we were able to achieve the result we were hoping for.” —V.S. 10

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KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

COURTESY THE DESIGNER AND MANUFACTURER

Deep Space

THE ICON OF ELEGANCE AND PRECISION GROHE ATRIO® COLLECTION

Consider the circle. A staple of natural geometry. A visual metaphor for completeness and eternity. For its new Atrio® Bathroom Collection, GROHE draws on this most elemental and elegant form to create an iconic object that is built to last.

Discover more at buygrohe.us/met-atrio

PRODUCTS Hydro-Planes New technology and changing tastes are driving a fresh crop of super-slim bath products.

Self-care extends beyond the realm of serums and skin salves found in the bathroom vanity. These super-slim fixtures also enhance the user’s experience and bolster the bath’s therapeutic appeal.

Technological advances have liberated designers from the weighty structures and traditional plumbing of the past. Thin, nimble surfaces are increasingly in vogue, seamlessly incorporated into the space. Exploiting contemporary 3D printing, casting techniques, and material formulas, designers and manufacturers alike are raising amenities to the level of sculpture– a fresh form for the luxe lav is taking shape. —Joseph P. Sgambati III

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02 CONCRETE TILE Ann Sacks, in collaboration with Israeli product designer Itai Bar-On, introduces Pas Deco to the Itai Bar-On Collection of sculptural concrete tile. The material is cast to bend and can be backlit to accentuate its unconventional form.

ANN SACKS annsacks.com

03 BLADE 3D-PRINTED FAUCET DXV has mastered the craft of additive manufacturing with its motion-activated, 3D-printed Blade faucet. A thin surface delivers a vortexlike ring of water along edges through a circular puncture in the spout.

DXV dxv.com

COURTESY THE MANUFACTURERS

01 VETRALLA This double-ended bath elevates the compact vessel with a slender profile in stark contrast to traditional tubs.

One-piece casting of volcanic limestone and resin makes this fixture harder and more durable than acrylic.

VICTORIA + ALBERT vandabaths.com

KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

Inspired by the Mediterranean color palette, and an authentic Italian passion for fine cuisine, the new SMEG Portofino range series is a powerful choice in any size.

Available in eight colors, various widths, and fuel sources, versatility is built-in.

Discover more at smegusa.com or contact us 212-265-5378 / info@smegusa.com SMEG - Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla A family company since 1948

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TECHNOLOGY Fast Track(ing) A new line from the creators of Katerra brings the factory floor closer to the building site, raising the stakes in data, sustainability, and efficiency.

COURTESY KOVA

By Sara Fernández Cendón

It’s not every day that a construction company launches its own line of building materials, but that’s exactly what Katerra did late last year when it introduced KOVA. Granted, Katerra is not typical within the building industry. Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, in Menlo Park, California, the company specializes in the construction of multifamily rental properties. Founded in 2015 by Michael Marks, former CEO of tech manufacturer Flextronics, and with prominent tech investors as backers, Katerra sits squarely at the intersection of construction, manufacturing, and technology.

This combination has created the conditions for a high degree of vertical integration, meaning Katerra can largely control its projects from the earliest stages of design to the end of construction and beyond. With factories in the United States and India, the company can manufacture structural components, assemblies, and finishes of its own design, then install them at job sites cleanly and quickly. Rather than working with a complex network of architects, engineers, general contractors, and subcontractors, developers can hire Katerra directly to run a project from beginning to end—an efficient approach that holds the potential to streamline communication,

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Opposite: a bathroom outfitted with KOVA products, including showerheads, faucets, lighting, and cabinetry This page: KOVA’s bath fixtures

KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

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TECHNOLOGY Fast Track(ing)

This page: Each KOVA category includes a limited, considered product line, in order to enable the company to produce high volumes and offer low prices—in other words, to maximize efficiency, a central feature of the enterprise. The business says its offerings meet the highest environmental standards, such as CALGreen certification, across all showerheads and faucets.

schedules, budgets, and, eventually, building performance.

Employing the economic discipline of a manufacturer, and with thousands of units under construction every year, Katerra knew it could use scale to its advantage. Trevor Schick, president of KOVA Materials, says the design, production, transportation, and installation of materials were obvious targets for improved efficiencies, an exercise that eventually led to KOVA. “We’re looking at every aspect of the supply chain, and where there are good suppliers, we’ll partner with them,” says Schick. “Where we don’t believe that innovation is happening, we’ll go after those areas ourselves.”

With KOVA, Katerra has gone after quite a few areas. The line comprises lighting products, appliances, flooring, plumbing, bath and kitchen accessories, tile, door and window hardware—even an HVAC system. Each product category offers a limited selection (only four lavatory sinks, for example, or nine showerheads), which enables the company to produce high volumes and offer competitive pricing.

Products are thoughtfully curated for foolproof complementarity across categories, another instance of efficiency, and the 16

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company’s showrooms, set up as apartments in Phoenix and Atlanta (with another one under construction in Tracy, California), focus on demonstrating how the items work together.

In the building industries, products are typically ordered, shipped, stored in a distribution center, and moved when needed at a job site. This approach wastes time and energy, in contrast to Katerra’s system. Thanks to radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology embedded in every KOVA product, the company’s project teams can track the location of each product throughout the building process— from specification, sourcing, and manufacturing in Katerra factories to shipping, delivery, and installation. Real-time status updates on the components’ locations allow for more precise planning, stronger coordination, and higher productivity at the job site.

“For us, the construction site is really our last factory,” says Schick. “It’s where the final assembly happens.”

In addition to making its supply chains more efficient, KOVA will flex its tech muscles with new features built into product releases planned for this year.

KOVA Intelligent HVAC, which is scheduled to roll out this year, employs advanced

sensor technology and artificial intelligence to capture, predict, and react to occupants’ use patterns. Machine learning is built into the product, meaning the system can detect conditions that have led to failure in the past and issue an alert before it stops working. These features translate into not only greater comfort but also significant energy savings—to the tune of 30 to 40 percent when compared with standard systems, according to Schick.

Still other products with strong sustainability features are in the pipeline for 2020.

With wireless lighting KOVA will take aim at electrical wire, which requires copper, insulation, and other carbon-intensive materials. Cross-laminated timber, the carbon-sequestering building material du jour, is being produced in a new Katerra factory in Spokane Valley, Washington.

While KOVA products are optimized to work with Katerra projects and processes, third-party sales have grown to about 20 percent of the brand’s business since KOVA became available to general contractors and subcontractors in 2019. Schick says the company is working with customers to integrate KOVA into projects from their outset, thus taking full advantage of what the model actually offers: the efficiency and flexibility of a just-in-time product line. M

COURTESY KOVA

Opposite: Each of KOVA’s product categories provides options that all fit together seamlessly for smart, modular installations.

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SHOWCASE Intimate Spaces Metropolis surveys some of the best kitchen and bathrooms of 2019.

PLANT BASED Located in the heart of New York City’s Flatiron neighborhood, Parsley Health is a primary care clinic whose sprawling, airy office looks like your most stylish friend’s loft.

Alda Ly Architecture & Design— the firm behind many of the outposts for The Wing—maximized the 5,500-square-foot headquarters with an openplan layout that connects the reception area with a members’ lounge. The main seating area flows into a kitchen space that elegantly holds court with a long wooden table (and kombucha on tap, to boot).

—Liz Stinson 18

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COURTESY REID ROLLS

In New York City, designer Alda Ly outfitted the clinic Parsley Health with ample biophilic elements and allowed for maximum incoming light. Its open kitchen area continues those themes, with natural woods, rattan furniture, and foliage interspersed throughout. Handsome pendant lights and a subway-tiled splashback maintain a neutral but stylish presence.

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SHOWCASE

WORKac principals Dan Wood and Amale Andraos consulted with the queer research practice QSPACE on the design of the center’s genderneutral bathroom, which sits centrally on the plan and assigns various colors and shapes to individual toilet areas. According to the architects, the bathroom is the first of its kind in the U.S.

STUDENT SERVICES

COURTESY © BRUCE DAMONTE/COURTESY WORKAC

At the newly renovated student center of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, New York architecture office WORKac reminds us of the constancy of change, and it nods to the vibrant culture of the contemporary art school. The firm rehabbed an existing building from 1948 and designed a new addition, which holds a lecture hall/screening room and mail room. Easy conviviality, transparency, perforation, and principles of open-endedness and flexibility suffuse the building, compounding the progressive nature demanded of such a space. The student center reminds us, through its blend of playfulness and seriousness, art and work, that everything is changing right now. —Eva Hagberg

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KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

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SHOWCASE

PLAYING HOUSE A professor at Harvard Graduate School of Design with a practice of her own, architect Jennifer Bonner is fascinated by the potential interchangeability of real architecture and models used to simulate it. Her Haus Gables in Atlanta is a precisely scaled-up version of a wooden “dollhaus” she exhibited at the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial. The two-story, twobedroom home was assembled from 87 cross-laminated timber panels bolted together with foot-long screws, providing both structure and interior surfacing.

Inside, finishes are—given the dollhouse referent—accordingly playful: An Instagram-influenced millennial-pink vibe abounds, and the overall color palette is heavy on sunny hues and cool pastels, while upmarket faux finishes, including Italian tiles that impersonate terrazzo and marble, aesthetically unite the young architect’s first ground-up work. —Zach Mortice

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COURTESY © NAARO

At Jennifer Bonner’s Haus Gables (top) in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward, a richness of surface treatments and finishes puts a critical and playful spin on the single-familyhome typology. Though wood dominates much of the interior gabled spaces, the bathroom (left) features striking ceramic tile that mimics the veining of marble—albeit impossibly colorful.

KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

L AUFEN .COM L AUFEN 1892 | SWIT ZERL AND

SHOWCASE

BARE NECESSITIES Since Ivi Diamantopoulou and Jaffer Kolb founded the practice New Affiliates in 2016, their portfolio has grown to encompass all facets of design, moving seamlessly from creating residential interiors and exhibitions to conceptualizing new forms of urbanism. After meeting while pursuing their MArchs at Princeton, the pair quickly nabbed their first commission: a cabin in Vermont, which wrapped in less than nine months and under tight budgetary constraints. Those conditions prompted Diamantopoulou and Kolb to adopt an alternately hands-on/hands-off approach and a keen attention to material flows and conservation. Despite far-reaching proposals—including those to reimagine the use architectural mock-ups—the duo seems content working within a local, finely-tailored context, at least for now. —Akiva Blander

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COURTESY MICHAEL VAHRENWALD/ESTO

In 2017, New Affiliates renovated a fashion designer’s apartment in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. In the reorganized central living area, an open kitchen area is kept raw, with exposed steel, plywood cupboards, and concrete. Bursts of color, like a green-lacquered island and copper piping, ensure the space is still inviting.

KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

LACAVA .com

VANITY SINK

PRONTO in natural walnut KUBITOP in gloss white

FAUCET

FLOU in matte black

MIRROR

NAVI in matte black

MADE IN THE USA CUSTOM PROJECTS WELCOME

SHOWCASE The Calile Hotel in Brisbane riffs on the local Queenslander aesthetic without resorting to nostalgia or sentimentality.

Guest rooms (right and below) use warm woods, brass, sisal, cork, and travertine to calming effect, contrasting with the bathrooms, which feature marble vanities, square tile, globe lights, and bronze-look piping.

SOFT INDUSTRY

COURTESY SEAN FENNESSY

In Brisbane, Australia, a glamorous change is in the air, partly thanks to the opening of The Calile Hotel, a 175-room “urban resort” on James Street, an inner-city industrial strip turned retail and lifestyle–focused locale. Courtesy of local firm Richards & Spence, the striking concrete-and-white-brick facade conceals a rich palette of pastels and tropical plants inside. Ingrid Richards, a principal of the firm with Adrian Spence, calls the mood “gentle Brutalism.” The design team deliberately avoided the generic local hospitality formula of commercial carpet, glass, and metals, looking instead to hot-weather places like Miami and Palm Springs for inspiration.

—Mikki Brammer

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KITCHENS & BATHS 2020

SensoWash® i shower-toilet.

Iconic design. Maximum comfort.

Visually minimalist and technologically innovative: SensoWash® i embodies an entirely new feel for design, hygiene, comfort, and quality of life. The integrated shower-toilet forms a complete, self-contained unit with an electronic flushing system and modern bidet comfort.

It opens up an entirely new world of wellness for the body–cleansing, invigorating, inspiring.

Design by Philippe Starck. More bathroom design at www.duravit.us

SPECULATION The Hospitable Kitchen Global design office (and Metropolis October 2019 guest editors) AvroKO envisions an urban residence designed to serve the needs of the culinarily inclined. This kitchen concept forms a dynamic social hub for the firm’s imaginary Culinarium.

As told to Leilah Stone

Each floor of our apartment building is equipped with a high-end common kitchen that provides tenants with commercialgrade tools, but with the look and feel of an elegant home kitchen. Resident chefs can control ambience with a customizable lighting system and through music played on built-in speakers. In-counter outlets provide power for tools or for guests’ devices. The countertops themselves integrate the most frequently used items—among them a knife-sharpening stone and cutting boards that slope gently into the trash compactor for easy cleanup.

In these kitchens, performance and durability are key, so all surfaces and appliances are made from simple-to-clean, hospitality-grade materials that won’t break or chip easily. Every element is designed to support the health and well-being of the users: To prevent back pain, the kitchen’s antibacterial surfaces can be hydraulically adjusted; and in places where chefs often stand, inset ergonomic rubber matting offers joint relief.

Because societal change is inevitable, the common kitchen should be like a living organism—able to evolve with the latest technology and always ready to accommodate a seamless cooking and dining experience. M 28

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© CREDITS GO HERE

Illustration by Jack Dylan

© CREDITS GO HERE

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