Dezeen promotion: during this year's Clerkenwell Design Week, bathroom brand Toto will present its latest products alongside an exhibition that explores design in the contemporary Japanese household.
Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Japanese brand, The Art of Everyday will take place in the Toto showroom from 23 to 25 May, and is curated by industrial designer David Tonge.
Visitors to Toto's Clerkenwell concept store will find photographs that have been personally annotated by Tonge, each presenting different domestic activities, including bathing, sleeping, cooking and eating.
A talk at the space on the 23 May will see a panel of experts discuss Japanese design and its influence on British culture. The panel will include Tonge, London designer David Keech, Royal College of Art professor Sarah Teasley and design commentator Max Fraser.
"It is the everyday things there that constantly surprise and delight, be it the objects, architecture, packaging, food, craftsmanship, rituals or their faultless hospitality," said Fraser, a self-confessed Japan addict.
Toto will also present its latest bathroom collections during Clerkenwell Design Week.
Among the new pieces will be the Floatation bathtub, which the company has spent 10 years researching and developing. Described as "an unusually calming bathing experience", the tub is designed to be used in a specific reclining position – similar to the posture of astronauts sleeping in zero-gravity.
This will be showcased alongside bestselling products including the Washlet toilets, which each come with an integrated bidet, a heated seat and a warm air dryer. The brand will also present its range of light-up basins and minimal hand dryers.
Toto was first established in Kitakyushu, Japan, in 1917. It was founded with a specific focus on hygiene – as public sewage systems were not widespread in Japan at that time.
It claims to have been the first company to introduce European and American-style sanitary ceramics to Japan.
The Washlet toilet has become the brand's signature product range. It was recently used by Klein Dytham Architecture to create Japan's "toilet of the year", which seemingly offered no privacy.
Toto's exhibition takes place at the brand's concept store at 140-142 St John Street during this year's Clerkenwell Design Week from 23 to 25 May.
Visit the Toto website for more information.