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Compact Luxury: Exploring the Future of Urban Living With AXOR

The following post is brought to you by AXOR. Our partners are hand-picked by the Design Milk team because they represent the best in design.

05.03.21 | By
Compact Luxury: Exploring the Future of Urban Living With AXOR

Living spaces have been slowly shrinking for years, with container homes, vans and RVs all playing their parts. And the future of homes looks to keep moving in this same direction of quality over quantity. The world is becoming more urban, and by 2050 it’s projected that two out of every three people will be living in a major city. As stressors outside of our control continue to grow, individuals find themselves looking to create a higher quality of life inside the homes by creating a private oasis of sorts. AXOR has coined the term “compact luxury” to define the brand’s exploratory look into the megatrend of going small.

building exterior

Love2 House by Takeshi Hosaka Architects \\\ Photo: Koji Fujii Nacasa & Partners

dining area

Love2 House by Takeshi Hosaka Architects \\\ Photo: Koji Fujii Nacasa & Partners

While the home environment is responsible for day-to-day living, socializing and entertaining, it’s also a place for retreat and revitalization. One of the areas this affects is a very personal space: the bathroom. As an escape from the city outside your windows, what can architects and interior designers do to optimize and enhance the area? To add character as well as the perception of luxury? We have some answers already.

building with skyline

Stealth Building by WORKac \\\ Photo: Bruce Damonte

interior living space

Stealth Building by WORKac \\\ Photo: Bruce Damonte

This is where AXOR’s Compact Luxury project comes into play. While exploring the future of urban living, they came to the conclusion that value will no longer lie solely in square footage. Instead, designs that express the desire to live consciously, holistically and harmoniously with your surroundings are about to move front and center. Private time and personal rituals should offer a sense of well-being at the end of the day, and Compact Luxury aims to provide just that.

exterior staircase and doorway

Stairway House by Nendo \\\ Photo: Daici Ano

view of two interior levels

Stairway House by Nendo \\\ Photo: Daici Ano

The project has already started a conversation with the architects and designers who will help guide us towards this predicted future. New ideas, insights and inspiration for urban luxury living have been on their minds for a while, and it’s an exciting time to be working in both industries as we begin to usher in this new phase of planning and development. AXOR continued to dig deeper by taking on five case studies with the help of The Future Laboratory and other Compact Luxury experts in the architecture and design community, with many of the living spaces seen in this article taking part.

building exterior

Switchback House by Edmonds+Lee \\\ Photo: Joe Fletcher

building interior

Switchback House by Edmonds+Lee \\\ Photo: Joe Fletcher

So what are consumers looking for when it comes to maximizing their living experience in a luxurious but thoughtful way? Meditative spaces that enhance privacy, streamlined spaces that boost serenity and well-being and hyper-personalized spaces that adapt to individual needs. A design aesthetic that avoids excess while embracing inconspicuous forms of luxury – multifunctional minimalism, if you will.

multifloor building exterior

Arte Surfside by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel \\\ Photo: Kris Tamburello

bathroom

Arte Surfside by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel \\\ Photo: Kris Tamburello

AXOR is also bringing something of their own to this exploratory phase with AXOR One, designed by Barber Osgerby. A bathroom collection such as this, that’s the essence of simplicity, is as good as it gets for these spaces that have liberated living, conscious well-being and immaterial affluence at the forefront. Characterized by an aesthetic of slender silhouettes, flat surfaces, soft corners and balanced proportions, AXOR One also takes the experience itself to the next level with Select Technology. Enhanced functionality and superior control offer a new mode of interaction that’s both clever and intuitive. Osgerby then created three AXOR One bathroom concepts based around three cities: New York, Copenhagen and Seoul.

bathroom

New York

bathroom double vanity

Copenhagen

shower

Seoul

Compact Living is a peek into what our next few decades may very well hold – from aesthetics to functionality to technology. It’s a big picture, and one we’re eager to be a part of.

To learn more about AXOR’s Compact Living project, visit axor-design.com.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.