SOLAR FUTURE: Yves Behar
For LAUFEN, designer Yves Béhar has reimagined the washbasin with VOLTA, introducing water to the bathroom in a radically new way.
14/03/2025
Water has always fascinated people. Now designer Yves Béhar has created VOLTA; a washbasin made of Saphirkeramik, that presents water in the bathroom in a completely new way. To achieve this, he has radically questioned the traditional form of the washbasin.
Yves Béhar is one of the most sought after designers in the world. He has designed global successes such as the SodaStream sparking water maker and Samsung's Frame television. Yves Béhar has now designed sanitary ceramics for LAUFEN for the first time - a challenge he has taken on with great commitment.
New design for new ideas
Behar describes VOLTA as "design for a changing world". His inspiration: the new E-Kiln, the world's first CO2-free firing kiln for sanitary ceramics at the LAUFEN site in Gmunden. His design impressively underlines the performance of the world's first electric tunnel kiln. Bringing sustainability to life through design - this is the idea that drives Yves Behar.
Behar wanted to completely rethink the washbasin for his design: "With a washbasin, the water normally flows directly from the faucet into the waste. In nature, on the other hand, water is in motion, sometimes flowing slowly, sometimes quickly. I thought hard about how I could incorporate these physical, visual and emotional properties of water into my project for LAUFEN.
Yves Behar has been preoccupied with the topic of water since his childhood: "Water has always been an important part of my life. I grew up on Lake Geneva. In California, where I live now, I spend a lot of time on the ocean. So I really wanted to convey the experience of water with my design!"
Design celebrates water
Water itself is at the heart of Yves Behar's design. "The design steps aside and lets the water take centre stage," says Behar, describing his creative approach. "Our starting point in the design process was not the outer shape of the basin, but the inner one. We experimented with various methods to set the water inside the basin in motion. We discovered that it is possible to make the water circulate in a controlled manner towards the waste.”
Water flows from ceramic itself
What is radically new is that Béhar's design no longer has the shape of a bowl. The water flows down a curved ramp that is inscribed like a spiral in the round basic shape of the washbasin. The water no longer has to flow out of a faucet. It flows out of an opening at the upper end of the ramp and is directed to the waste at the centre of the basin, at the foot of the ramp. This also creates a new aesthetic, as Behar emphasises: ‘Very geometric, very minimal, very simple’.
Sustainable and emotional
When the waste is closed, the water collects at the foot of the ramp to form a small "pool". This means that the entire basin does not have to be filled when washing or cleaning. The dry zones can then be used as storage areas. Another effect of the basin shape is that the rotating movement of the washer cleans the ceramic at the same time.
It was important to Yves Behar to create a design that helps to save water. LAUFEN and Yves Behar share the ambition to make a positive contribution to the environment and society through their actions. Behar is one of the co-founders of the "Cradle to Cradle" organisation and is one of the most important pioneers in the promotion and development of recyclable products and materials. His studio Fuseproject in San Francisco is involved in a variety of projects in the fields of sustainability, education and global development. For example, Fuseproject designed tablets and computers for the OLPC One Laptop Per Child initiative and is working on 3D printed houses for low-income families. Yves Behar was therefore the ideal partner for LAUFEN to realise a project that would give creative expression to the possibilities of the pioneering LAUFEN e-kiln.
"I'm a water person," says Yves Behar about himself. "The movement of water has a hypnotic effect on me." Behar's study for LAUFEN captures this emotion perfectly. The poetry of water becomes immediately visible and tangible. This was precisely Behar's aim: "Water really is a magical element for me. I want to show the magic of water with my design.”