London studio Barber Osgerby has designed Archivio, a collection of bathroom fittings for German luxury brand AXOR that reinterprets classic bathroom forms with soft contours and petal-shaped cross handles.
Archivio made its global debut during Milan Design Week in April 2026, where AXOR presented its work under the theme Escape the Ordinary. The launch coincides with the 125th anniversary of the Hansgrohe Group, AXOR’s parent company.
A new classic
The collection builds on more than a decade of collaboration between AXOR and Barber Osgerby, the studio founded by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.
According to the designers, the aim was to create a new classic for the brand, a piece that would be memorable and enduring. The collection draws on historic forms and refined detailing while interpreting them from a contemporary perspective, seeking a balance between past and future.
Soft contours, flowing lines and precise detailing give Archivio an understated, personal sense of luxury. Olivier Sogno, vice president of marketing at the Hansgrohe Group, described the collection as part of the brand’s commitment to timeless design, offering interior designers and bathroom planners more ways to balance classic and contemporary.
Cross handles and levers
Archivio is offered with two handle types. Petal-shaped cross handles reinterpret a traditional symbol in a modern way, while sculptural levers provide a more fluid, tactile alternative.
The signature piece is a three-hole basin mixer that pairs a curved spout with cross handles, resting on bell-shaped bases. The design language extends across the whole bathroom, covering basins, baths and showers.
The fittings are available in single-hole, three-hole, wall-mounted and floor-standing configurations. They can be specified in AXOR FinishPlus surfaces, allowing designers to create either contrasting or tonal bathroom schemes.
Waterway installation
In Milan, AXOR also worked with Zhang Haihua, the humanist interior architect behind Chinese practice Z+H, on an installation titled Waterway. The space used Archivio fittings in a brushed gold finish and referenced Zhang’s childhood memories of playing with water in the lanes of Suzhou, which continue to inform his design approach.
Source: 77 Global Furnishings Media
