Thinnest-Ever Sink Fixtures by Laufen

Swiss bath specialist Laufen introduces two incredibly thin sink fixtures created out of an innovative material, SaphirKeramik. The thin but strong material boasts a wall thickness of no more than four millimeters with defined edges with radii of one to two millimeters.

Until now, a seven to eight millimeters radii, with rounded corners, has been the standard for state-of-the-art classic ceramics. The flexible strength of SaphirKeramik ceramic allows for precise execution and therefore greater design flexibility than typical ceramic.

One of Laufen’s frequent collaborators, Andreas Dimitriadis, founder of the design firm platinumdesign , says, “The new ceramic material from Laufen offers me unprecedented creative scope in design and requires a whole new way of thinking. We now think in terms of precise edges and slender wall thicknesses instead of surfaces and tolerances.”

“The ceramic designers at Laufen were trying to see how far they could push the technical boundaries of ceramic design,” says Mike Teresso, president of Laufen Bathrooms North America. “Our Research Director, Dr. Werner Fischer, worked for years to perfect a ‘recipe’ which would allow Laufen to design and produce products with the flexural strength of steel but the delicate look and feel that ceramic has. We are still in the nascent phase of design with SaphirKeramik; designing collections around these new, beautifully thin sinks. Over the next year we will unveil other products as well. Our design team and our collaborators are already working on new designs.”