Upper West Salamanca, the new law of the bathroom
Atelier“Upper West Salamanca (The Bathroom Act) It is a plea to restore stylistic, functional, and social importance to bathrooms, making them absolute protagonists of homes. This space reclaims the decorative style of Tenement Tiles, with their characteristic ceramic tiles that became “famous” for decorating the common areas of what were once multi-family working-class dwellings in early 20th-century Manhattan, now brought into the world of luxury and everyday life. “Following the statutes of the Tenement Act to guarantee minimum space and sanitary conditions in the most disadvantaged housing, we want to enact a new law that ensures bathrooms are central, social, and aesthetic spaces where we spend more and more time,” conclude the designers of the studio. Egue and Seta authors of this project.
This argument for the bathroom and Tenement Tiles is present in every construction element of this space, where the use of ceramic is highlighted for being economical and infinitely versatile, allowing for the creation of a fun, different, and colorful space. The breakdown of all the tiles is what stands out most in the space, and the different ceramic pieces meticulously worked by the hands of the artists at the Bathco Atelier are the true protagonists. On one hand, there's a pictorial work realized in two hand-painted ceramic murals, and on the other hand, a more sculptural work with the creation of low-relief ceramic tiles made entirely by hand.Bas-reliefs
Main Artists:
- Part Design and Mold Making: Cecilio
- Molding and Part Extraction: Ángel and Cecilio
- Hand-polished and piece-glued: María, José Luis, and Cecilio
- Aged painted and enameled pieces: Maria, Ana, and Jose Luis
Murals
Main Artists:
- Composition and image creation: Cecilio
- Printing and varnishing decals: Cecilio and María
- Stuck on tile decals: Inma and Marisa
- Hand retouched with ceramic pigment: Ángel and José Luis
Lettering
Main Artists:
- Stencil Mask Composition and Printing: Cecilio
- Hand-painted with ceramic pigment: Ana
The artists at the Atelier have been tasked with recreating those characteristic polychrome and profusely decorated tiles from the era, inspired by the rise of the Art Nouveau movement and in the midst of the “boom” in Victorian residential architecture. Their creation has been very special because it was done in reverse from how it's usually imagined. They first worked with digital techniques, designed by computer and printed with 3D machines, to then implement craftsmanship, making a plaster negative, and inserting ceramic paste under pressure. This was followed by baking and hand-glazing each tile individually.
The space features two ceramic murals (one of a woman and one depicting a plant area) designed by artists from Atelier. To create them, they introduced sketches into artificial intelligence software to generate different alternatives, and the final sketch was reached through post-production in Photoshop. These ceramic murals were realized using decals and high-temperature vitreous paint.
The lettering work done for the title “MORNING SIDE” that appears in the space is also noteworthy. To achieve a high degree of detail and quality, the artists at the Atelier created a vinyl stencil, which they later filled with a white ceramic pigment.
Ceramic tiles made entirely by hand, hand-painted murals, and countless details that only enhance the room, ultimately leaving all the protagonism to two fundamental pieces: the sinks. On this occasion, Bathco has chosen two stainless steel pieces from the new Detroit collection. This series of sinks is available in circular, square, and rectangular formats, and also comes in three different finishes: brushed steel, gunmetal, and bronze.
Detroit Sinks
The sinks Detroit rectangles in a brushed steel finish are located in the rest and changing area.
Antequera Toilet
The Antequera toilet It is located in the most intimate space of the bathroom, hidden from the main area.
Milos faucets
The faucets used are from the Milos series. Both the High faucets of the sinks like the shower faucet.All of them in a gunmetal finish.
The Bathco Space at Casa Decor 2023 It can be visited from April 13 to May 28 in space 46 of Casa Decor 2023 (Serrano 92 building, Madrid). You can get your tickets clicking here.
SPACE AR31
Andreína Raventós Architecture Design a spaceship home in its AR31 space. A 18-square-meter house of the future with everything you need to live. For this original creation, the Corrales pedestal sink from Bathco has been used.
The Origin of Life
Jose Manuel Ruiz-Clavijo Choose the dark gray Pesquera cement sink and the Milos built-in faucet from Bathco for the Delta space called “The Origin of Life.” A true tribute to the beginning of life with water as the common thread throughout the space.
We want to give special mention to all the collaborators we've had in this space at Casa Decor 2023: Cosentino (countertop and backsplash), Awesome Design ceramic coating, El Corte Inglés (rug and curtains), The Cutting Yard carpentry, The Masie (lamps, sconces, side tables, and decorative accessories), Hisbalit (glass mosaic), Industrial Meeting hardware, Arquitalia (Project implementation).
Press kit
Photos of the spaces and press releases
Through the following link, you can download photographs and press releases for the different spaces where Bathco is present at Casa Decor 2023.
PHOTOGRAPHS: Lupe Clemente and Nacho Uribe