The disappearing bathroom? Somewhat reminiscent of a traditional sauna with slatted wooden benches ascending in height, Rapsel’s One bathroom collection by Mattheo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez conceals plumbing and fixtures beneath folding shelves and benches. They too ascend in height, and their composition of solid larch wood slats further enhances the resemblance. This design took home the “Best of the Year 2009” Interior Design Award for Best in Bath.

One Collection. Designed by Matteo Thun for Rapsel.

One Collection includes a stainless steel washbasin, white ceramic toilet and stainless steel shower tray for use when you need them and concealment when you don’t. We’ve seen this concept before with kitchen design – an application for which it is seemingly more useful. Boffi’s On/Off kitchen, designed by Alberto Colonello transforms from a solid paneled wall into a full-functioning, gourmet kitchen nearly instantaneously. The One Collection visually retreats into the bathroom space, employing Thun’s previously pattented invisible drain design to achieve a truly minimalist aesethetic. It provides a “bench” in lieu of the toilet, and a “slatted counter” in lieu of the sink. I suppose the shower cover is a platform – keeping your feet dry if you choose to walk over it.

In private hotel rooms, One Collection could be a fairly clever option. These spaces offer the opportunity to absorb the bathroom within the more public bedroom/living area, making the “invisible nature” of the collection beneficial. But in private homes, although we’ve witnessed the absorption of the kitchen into public space, this isn’t likely to happen with the bathroom for obvious reasons. So the full potential of One Collection is unlikely to be realized in most private homes. As far as public spaces go, the word “sanitation” pretty much sums it up. Lifting and lowering to uncover the sink or toilet…enough said.

Architect-designer Matteo Thun is well known for his organic sensibilities and use of innovative materials. Check out the shower curtain rod Pluviae, a design of Thun’s previously featured on 3Rings.

Rapsel products are distributed in North America exclusively through AF New York.