Go with the flow: KWC

The Swiss company KWC manufactures premium kitchen and bath fittings that stand out for their craftsmanship and perfection. This high standard of aesthetics and quality goes back to the origins of the company, which began in 1874 as a maker of artful music boxes. Their production demanded, above all, fine workmanship and mechanical understanding – skills that are reflected in the values of the company today: precision, clarity and elegance. At the end of the nineteenth century, the company turned its attention fully to bathroom and kitchen fittings, which due to their quality soon found their way into the grandest houses. The product range has been steadily expanded ever since, and refined with regard to design and functionality. As a result, KWC offers architects and designers diverse possibilities for the use of its products, as the following examples illustrate.

In 2016, the renowned Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron built the luxurious residential tower 56 Leonard Street in New York. The sixty-storey building has the appearance of a stack of glass blocks, each offset from the one below it, and each apartment was to be given an individual character. Accordingly, even the bath and kitchen elements were conceived by the architects themselves. They are furnished with the KWC EVE line of faucets, which are striking for their unmistakeable design and elegant silhouette. At the same time, they demonstrate functionality and technical refinement: for example, a water jet that can be illuminated by an integrated light-ring.

KWC faucets were also used in another New York residential building, 520 West 28th Street, which was designed by the British architect and Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid. The building occupies a prime site in the Chelsea neighbourhood, in close vicinity to the High Line. The curving, futuristic-looking metal elements of the exterior bear Hadid’s clear handwriting. And the flowing lines and sculptural character are picked up in the interior, including in the free-standing kitchen elements designed by the architect herself. These are completed by the KWC series SIN, whose curved swivel spout gives the faucets an elegant design and a strong presence – doing justice to the reduced, modern aesthetic of the surroundings. They at once set a high functional standard and fulfil all the criteria of innovative design.

KWC ONO is no less elegant, but somewhat more pragmatic in character and more rigorous in its cylinder form. It is distinguished by its finely worked lever, which also allows precise control. The straightforward series has appeared in, among other places, the Milan showroom of the Italian kitchen manufacturer Boffi – which, like KWC, stands for innovation and design in kitchen furnishings. With its intelligent functions and timeless design, this classic KWC faucet perfectly complements the premium manufacturer’s concept.

KWC ZOE, in contrast, features intelligent technology that adjusts to its individual user. Its avant-garde form fits optimally into the new design of the kitchen element Aria, developed by the Italian kitchen manufacturer Snaidero in collaboration with the Italian design studio Pininfarina. The futuristic, anthracite-coloured element breaks with traditional kitchen design and uses the most modern technology and materials. Not just the kitchen is innovative, however, but also the curved KWC ZOE series, which offers touch control for its operation and water temperature regulation. It completes the bold design of the kitchen module and, in its black version, takes a fitting place in the overall colour concept.

KWC faucets are employed in the finest homes today – and for that reason are also popular for use in hotel bathrooms. The KWC AVA line, for example, with its pared-down design, is optimally suited to the hotel sector. The timeless form of the fittings, with their cylindrical body and rectangular spout, makes them a versatile product. With its numerous functions, AVA also adapts to the most diverse needs.

Years of experience and a multifaceted product range make KWC a competent partner in furnishing the most disparate projects, from private homes to upscale hotels, and from commercial kitchens to public buildings.

© Architonic