VITREON by Laufen, shaping a new design language
From Experience Tomorrow to VITREON, through Grcic’s installation and a new chapter with Kartell, Laufen explores new material possibilities and redefines the role of the bathroom within contemporary interiors.
At Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone 2026, Laufen puts forward a precise and timely question: how is the bathroom space evolving today? The Swiss brand constructs a layered narrative that unfolds across two complementary contexts. With Experience Tomorrow, Laufen explores the intersection of material innovation, spatial design, and human behaviour, proposing a shift in how we understand and inhabit one of the most intimate areas of the home. What emerges is a coherent vision: one that repositions the bathroom as an architectural environment, one shaped by perception, time, and daily rituals.
At Salone del Mobile, Laufen’s stand operates as more than an exhibition. Structured around a central agora, it unfolds through a sequence of immersive layers that invite visitors to move through space. This spatial choreography is deliberate. The stand presents products as part of a narrative in which materials, light, and geometry interact continuously. Surfaces reflect and absorb light differently, textures guide perception, and transitions between zones create a rhythm that mirrors everyday movement.
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In this context, the bathroom is conceived as an environment designed to be experienced, an extension of the domestic landscape, a space that moves beyond a purely technical definition. This approach raises a fundamental question: what defines a space today: its function, or the experience it enables? Laufen’s answer leans clearly toward the latter. The project suggests that contemporary design must move beyond efficiency and embrace a more holistic understanding of how people engage with space over time.
At the core of Laufen’s presentation lies VITREON, a new material that signals a significant step forward in the brand’s ongoing exploration of material innovation. Combining the structural strength of steel with the refined surface quality of glass, VITREON introduces a hybrid materiality that is both highly performative and visually expressive. Yet its relevance extends beyond technical performance.
What makes VITREON particularly compelling is its ability to redefine the relationship between material and design. Rather than serving as a neutral support for form, it becomes an active agent in shaping it. Surfaces gain depth, colours acquire intensity, and reflections create subtle variations that change throughout the day. The result is a dynamic interaction between object and environment, where light is integral to the design process.
In this sense, the washbasin is transformed. It becomes an architectural presence, one that contributes to the spatial identity of the room. This shift invites a broader reflection: to what extent can material influence our perception of space? With VITREON, Laufen suggests that material is a language, one capable of conveying atmosphere, emotion, and meaning. It is through this language that the bathroom evolves into a more sensory and expressive environment.
If the Salone presentation focuses on material, Fuorisalone introduces another, more elusive dimension: time. With When Time Becomes Material, Konstantin Grcic creates an installation that moves beyond conventional product display, offering instead a conceptual reflection on how design interacts with the passage of time.
Set within a cylindrical wooden structure, the installation unfolds as a calm and introspective space. The atmosphere is intentionally restrained, allowing visitors to slow down and engage with the objects in a more deliberate way. At the centre of this environment is PAR, a new collection developed in collaboration with Laufen. Unlike traditional product launches, PAR is not presented as a set of features or innovations, but as a system designed to evolve with its user.
The project addresses a specific yet often overlooked condition: the gradual transformation of needs over time. PAR anticipates change through intuitive design. Its forms are simple, its functions integrated, and its presence deliberately understated. This raises an intriguing question: can design support users without demanding attention? Grcic’s answer lies in a concept of “silent functionality.” Here, design operates through subtlety, adapting, supporting, and integrating seamlessly into daily life.
Alongside this introspective exploration, Laufen’s collaboration with Kartell introduces a different yet complementary direction: the integration of the bathroom into the broader domestic environment. More than a decade after the launch of the original Kartell by Laufen collection, this new chapter, under the creative direction of Ferruccio Laviani, signals a shift in how bathroom elements are conceived and positioned.
Central to this evolution is the introduction of VITREON, which expands the expressive potential of the collection, particularly in terms of colour. Yet the transformation goes beyond material. Pieces such as beauTwash, with its distinctive T-shaped structure, challenge the traditional definition of bathroom furniture, assuming the presence and identity of domestic furnishings. Similarly, the reinterpretation of Kartell’s iconic Componibile as a column washbasin introduces a dialogue between design history and contemporary use.
Across Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone, Laufen constructs a coherent and multi-layered narrative that operates at different scales: from material research to spatial design, from conceptual installation to product development. What connects these elements is a shared intention: to redefine how we perceive and inhabit space.
Material becomes language. Time becomes a design parameter. Domestic environments become fluid and interconnected. The bathroom evolves from a technical necessity into a field of exploration, one capable of reflecting broader changes in how we live. Perhaps this is where the future of design truly lies: not in the creation of new objects, but in the ability to rethink the spaces they inhabit, and, ultimately, the experiences they enable.
