WCircle, a new concept for a holistic bathroom designed by the Lebanese interior architect Charbel Tawil, was selected as one of the 3 finalists project at the ‘Jumpthegap Roca International Design Contest’ award ceremony, held in BCD Barcelona on 17 October.
6,054 participation from 134 countries applied to the completion!
Charbel Tawil presented the project in front of the international jury, where Patrik Shumacher, director of Zaha Hadid Architects, was head of this jury competition.
Jumpthegap is an International Design Contest promoted by Roca since 2004 with the collaboration of BCD Barcelona Design Centre that is looking for new, innovatie and sustainable concepts for the bathroom space. This seventh jumpthegap, aimed at creative people who think towards the future whilst designing today, is a very special edition as it coincides with Roca’s 100th Anniversary celebration.
The three finalist for the professional category are:
Sanctuary by Bodin Hon and Dilara Kan
WCircle by Charbel El Tawil
Panacea By Mohamadreza ShahMohamadi
WCircle is a smart, eco-friendly bathroom facilitating a modern experience while optimizing use of space to maintain a minimal footprint. Its main interface consists of a central revolving pod, rotating to provide either of three essential functions of everyday use: the washbasin, the toilet seat, and the shower. This capsule is essential for living environments with minimal space such as dorms, studio apartments. Additionally, it provides opportunities for those to add such function in an outdoor living area. This innovative pre-built capsule has a self-cleaning system, and a grey water filtering technology that makes use of an easy unified.
Along with several finalists of the competition from countries such as Lebanon, Hong Kong, Poland, Spain, as Iran, Turkey, and Portugal, the event has gathered professionals of the design and architecture fields; among them, the members of the jury Patrik Schumacher, director of Zaha Hadid Architects and president of the jury; Isabel Roig, general director of BCD Barcelona Design Centre; Benedetta Tagliabue, director of EMBT and the Enric Miralles Foundation; Josep Congost, design and innovation director at Roca; Valentin Vodev, founder of the company VELLO, specialising in the manufacturing and sale of bicycles and other innovative mobility products; and Xavier Torras, communication and brand director at Roca and director of the We Are Water Foundation.
Moreover, WCircle Hologram and the designers vision of the future bathroom are on display at the ‘Next Bath Experience’ Exhibition in Barcelona until 10 December. The exhibition is a reflection on the bathroom of the future, you can discover different experiences and concepts of the future that include; a mutant bath, a metabolic bath, a hybrid bath, a biomorphic bath and a cocoon bath.
About the Designer
Charbel is an interior architect who appreciates everything related to design. He received his Masters in Interior Architecture from the Lebanese University in 2008. He attended MOOC Product Design course at the TU Delft University Netherlands with distinction. Before setting up his practice, he was involved in numerous projects with SEK Architects and Polypod. Throughout his career, he worked on a diverse array of Interior design projects ranging from residential, hospitality, to commercial including product and furniture design. Charbel established his design studio in 2016, where he explores design solutions and products for interior architectural projects.