Serene, evocative, and immersive, Haihua Zhang’s Waterway bathroom concept brings a deeply personal perspective to AXOR’s ‘Escape the ordinary’ campaign.
Inspired by his childhood in Suzhou, China—an ancient city shaped by canals—the designer conceived an elongated, light- and water-filled space that strikes a subtle balance between nature and architecture. AXOR Archivio fixtures in Brushed Brass introduce warmth, precision, and understated elegance to this calm environment.
Inspired by the river
“On summer evenings, a group of us little boys would often walk from our homes through long, narrow alleys to the river to play in the water,” Zhang recalls. Drawing on these memories, the designer allows Waterway to unfold as a sequence of spaces defined by Koshi wood, microcement, and water: A fine stone bed approaches a sunken, square bath, followed by an open shower and a floating washbasin oriented toward a bamboo grove. An operable skylight opens the space to the elements and floods it with light.
Each zone—bath, shower, basin—spans the full width of the plan, referencing the narrow river pathways characteristic of Suzhou. This layout encourages a slow, mindful progression: to access the washbasin, one must move through—and fully experience—the water, light, and shimmering reflections along the way.
Warmth meets clarity
Zhang’s choice of materials is equally evocative. “The texture and scent of wood are used to convey nature and warmth,” explains Zhang. “Microcement expresses the strength and restraint of architectural space; and water, skylight and rippling reflections introduce a sense of time within the space.” Together, these elements create an atmosphere that is at once grounded and fluid.
AXOR Archivio
Centred on Barber Osgerby’s new AXOR Archivio collection, Waterway incorporates fixtures from the range throughout the space. At the shower, Zhang pairs a hand shower and cross handle thermostat for 2 functions with a 240 1 jet overhead shower. At the bath, a 3-hole wall-mounted bath mixer with lever handles underscores the room’s architectural clarity.
For the washbasin, the designer proposes two configurations: a 2-hole wall-mounted basin mixer with a custom stone basin, or a single lever basin mixer 250 paired with an AXOR Suite basin.
The sound of memory
With its versatile transitional character, AXOR Archivio evokes the past while fitting perfectly in the contemporary setting of Zhang’s concept bathroom. “When encountering AXOR Archivio, I feel as though I can hear a distant, lingering bell—awakening a certain kind of memory,” says Zhang.
“Truly good products can move us in an instant. My bathroom space is conceived with the same intention—to touch you immediately. It allows water, light, and the body to merge into one where only the self exists, together with nature.”
A new perspective on water
Conceived as part of our ‘Escape the ordinary’ campaign, Zhang offers a unique perspective on how bathroom design can create water experiences that are extraordinary. Striking a careful balance of light and shadow, material and atmosphere, nature and the man-made, Waterway encompasses a way of experiencing water that is both luxurious and natural. Rooted in the vitality of nature, his design inspires, engages and rejuvenates in equal measure.
Haihua Zhang
“I hope this experience is extremely simple,” Zhang explains. “A moment of being alone, of re-sensing one’s own presence, and of returning to an inner world that truly belongs to oneself.” Beyond function, Zhang envisions a transcendent, almost spiritual dimension: “It’s space where both body and mind can slow down, return to nature, and reconnect with the state of life and the spatial atmosphere we long for.”
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