When it comes to the built environment, few places on earth compare to Tokyo. The megacity, including its metropolitan area, is the world's most populous urban centre with some 37 million inhabitants – the pure epitome of the frenetic modern neon metropolis. On the flipside, Japan is often equally associated with serenity and ritual, and in conceiving the new Zencha series for German bathroom brand Duravit, designer Sebastian Herkner drew inspiration from one of the more calming elements of the culture, the tea ceremony. The bathroom as a place of wellbeing and retreat also played a key role in Herkner's concept – no bad thing when you've got 37 million neighbours… Alun Lennon – Content Editor | | Tea ceremony: Duravit x Sebastian Herkner | | Duravit's new Sebastian Herkner-designed Zencha series takes inspiration from Japanese tea traditions, not only in formal aesthetic terms but also the purity and harmony of its rituals. Read more | | Inspired by handmade ceramic teacups, Zencha is a perfectly balanced homage to mindfulness that transforms the bathroom into a place of ritual and retreat... Watch the video to find out more | | Putting the zen in Zencha | | The Zencha bathroom series' organic curves and light, natural materials allow for the creation of peaceful bathroom spaces that appeal to the soul as well as the body. Read more | | Duravit Facts & Figures Founded: 1817 in Hornberg in the Black Forest · Product portfolio: Quality sanitary ceramics, bathroom furniture, bathtubs and shower trays, wellness systems, shower-toilets, faucets and accessories as well as installation systems · Design partners: Cecilie Manz, Philippe Starck, Christian Werner, Sebastian Herkner and Bertrand Lejoly, among others · Mission: To make its stakeholders’ lives a little better each day through a combination of forward-looking designs, uncompromising product excellence, a keen sense of human requirements and responsible corporate management. A key measure in achieving these aims is the overriding mission to become a climate-neutral business by 2045 with no exceptions. | | | | Zencha wall-mounted vanity unit | | | Zencha mirror with lighting and app control | | | | Zencha: wellness for the environment | | From its material palette and modularity to manufacturing processes, the Zencha collection was developed with sustainability and the wellbeing of the planet in mind, too. Read more | | Sebastian Herkner: in his own words | | Rounded shapes, graceful outward-curving edges, minimalistic storage and subtle frames – with a Japanese twist. This is Zencha, a bathroom collaboration between Duravit and designer Sebastian Herkner... Watch the video to find out more | | | |