Bau is a design handle born to enhance the dialogue between materials of different natures. The meeting between metal and a noble material like marble produces a refined, essential and strongly architectural contrast. Inspired by the principles of the Bauhaus, Bau adopts a pure geometry and a technology reduced to the essential: drawn brass and marble join together through a precise and elegant interlock. A door handle with an exclusive taste, capable of transforming the functional detail into a distinctive element of the project.
The first step was marked by a reflection around the Bau handle designed by two young German designers, Nina Ruthe and David Antonin of Studio Niruk. The occasion was provided by a workshop organized by Kober, a historic German company specialized in the production of porcelain articles.
The shape of the Bau handle is characterized by a rigorous and expressive geometry that highlights the material of the grip.
The next step was to think about experimenting with different materials. Knowing Paolo Carli, owner of Henraux – a company with a great reputation in marble working – for a long time, we turned to them.
From the willingness shown and from the wonder for the white Statuario Altissimo marble that comes from the same quarry from which the blocks used by Michelangelo were extracted, the idea was born to carry the project forward with them, not only by expanding the range of marbles to the black Marquina and the gray Versilys, but also by thinking of using those parts that come from the manufacture of large objects, with the aim of losing nothing of this precious mineral.
— Antonio Olivari