Promotion: drawing on the aesthetic of the film Blade Runner, architect Tristan Auer has designed a neon-lit bathroom concept for Axor to suit an imagined male client.

Auer created the concept as part of the German brand's Distinctive project, which tasks some of the world's leading architects with creating highly individual bathrooms.

Auer was free to design whatever he wanted, but had his imagination sparked by a suggestion in the brief that the bathroom sit in a high-rise apartment in Hong Kong.

"You know Blade Runner from Ridley Scott? Hong Kong is like that — something that is building on top of itself. Different layers," he said.

"You have the crowd on the street level, and then, as you elevate, it's more and more futuristic. It's why I combine old antiques pieces with very modern textures."

From this starting point, Auer developed a dark bathroom that combines reflective stainless steel elements with neon lighting and a mix of different travertine stones.

Axor's Edge faucets, designed by Jean-Marie Massaud, further fuelled his worldbuilding around the design, as he says their diamond-cut pyramidal pattern reminds him of an 80s icon, the ST Dupont lighter.

"I don't smoke, but I like to touch. So that sets the stage — Dupont, those colors, those ambiances," he said, explaining that, in combination with the "masculine" travertine, it helped him to build a picture of his imagined client.

"It's for a man. Definitely selfish. The guy is only thinking about himself. He likes to collect. He's a hedonist."

As well as the Axor Edge washbasin faucet and freestanding bath faucet, Auer's bathroom features the Axor ShowerHeaven and Axor Edge thermostat in the shower and Philippe Starck's ultramodern Axor Universal rectangular accessories.

They all have a polished gold optic finish, which adds to the bold and moodily space-age look of the bathroom.

"Axor Edge is great, and not only because Jean-Marie is a good friend," said Auer. "I would have liked to have designed it before him!"

Auer describes himself as an "interior and emotion" architect, because of how he reads and interprets his clients' wishes, drawing inspiration from them rather than imposing his own style.

He started his career with French interior designer and architect Christian Liaigre, who worked wholly bespoke at the time, and says he learned to design everything down to the door handle.

"I know the artisans," he said. "I know the process. And individualisation is very interesting because, for me, that's luxury, to have something made for you."

Individualisation of living spaces is the focus of Axor's Distinctive project, for which Auer and fellow architects Sarah Poniatowski and Hadi Teherani have all designed highly personalised bathrooms.

Axor sees individualisation as a growing trend, with people seeking more personal expressions of style following decades of globalisation and standardisation.

To view more of Axor's products, visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Axor as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.