The German contribution to EXPO 2010 included Duravit‘s new collection PuraVida, an appropriate product range for the EXPO’s theme of balancity–“a city in balance between regeneration and preservation, innovation and tradition, urbanity and nature, community and individual development, work and leisure, globalisation and national identity.” A collaboration of Duravit, Phoenix Design, and Hansgrohe, PuraVida has already earned a red dot award.

PuraVida. Designed by Tom Schönherr of Phoenix Design, in collaboration with Duravit and Hansgrohe.

The Collection’s designer Tom Schönherr explains that he and his team at Phoenix Design sought to imbue the bath with a relaxed and feminine aspect: “I feel that, in future, there will be a need for new forms, new emotions, everything will be richer, more cheerful and livelier."

PuraVida includes washbasins, toilets, tubs, and bath furniture from Duravit, as well as mixers and shower heads from Hansgrohe. The collection intends to bring “a new sense of lightness in the bathroom.” In response to our increasingly “complex and advanced” world, PuraVida offers an escape. The pieces are simple and sleek, with just a touch of femininity that emerges from subtle curves. Two PuraVida standouts are the Shower Tub with accent lighting and the washbasin mounted on a high-gloss vanity, which Duravit describes as “dignified but not flashy.” The tub is especially effective in presenting a spa-like feel, since the blue lighting surrounds the gleaming white tub like a planetary halo. Besides the vanities, the PuraVida bath furniture also includes cabinets and mirrors with nicely rounded edges all around. Hansgrohe offers the PuraVida Collection’s faucets, a group of mixers and shower heads in white: “White represents freshness and purity, something to be cherished day by day.” The varied pieces in PuraVida are an antidote to modern living, transforming the bathroom into a sanctuary.