Exploring insights from Audrey Yeo, Leader of LIXIL Water Technology (LWT) Asia Pacific, on the architecture and design industry, World Architecture Festival and the GROHE SPA brand. This includes how trends on personalised luxury and wellbeing are met with bespoke solutions and unique Omotenashi concierge service at LIXIL Experience Centres across the region.
Can you tell us about your involvement with the World Architecture Festival (WAF) and how it influences your approach with the GROHE brand?
The architecture & design (A&D) community understands that buildings exert considerable aesthetic and psychological impact on our everyday lives. The World Architecture Festival brings this to the forefront, through its live judging and discourse on competing ideas that affect the human experience. The engagement and dialogue at WAF not only judges the present but also influences the future landscape of our built environment.
As the founder partner of WAF, GROHE has been supporting the architecture community for 17 consecutive years. Our engagements at WAF have gleaned insights on several macrotrends that we think will impact the industry across sustainability, health & wellbeing, and urbanisation. One of these areas of interest is in the growing demand for personal wellness and personalisation.
GROHE delegate lounge at World Architecture Festival 2023
Could you elaborate on how the GROHE brand is addressing the growing demand for personal wellness and customisation?
Our dialogue with prominent designers affirm that collaboration and experimentation are key to advancing solutions around how built environments can serve as catalysts for wellbeing. In our research, we have determined that discerning architects, designers and users also want to be able to customise their wellbeing experiences. Creating a tailored wellbeing experience requires close conversation and collaboration between all stakeholders.
Macro Trends shaping GROHE’s approach to creating meaningful solutions.
How does the GROHE brand contribute to the trend towards personalised luxury and wellbeing in architectural design?
GROHE SPA, the premium sub-brand of GROHE, seeks to advance these conversations to co-create new ideas and possibilities for personalised luxury. The term ‘SPA’ is traced to the Latin phrase ‘Salus Per Aquam’ which translates into ‘Health through Water.’ This concept forms the heart and soul of the GROHE SPA brand. It inspires various advancements that build on each other to recreate and, in some instances, elevate the home spa experience.
This concept forms the heart and soul of GROHE SPA. It inspires various advancements that build on each other to recreate and, in some instances, elevate the home spa experience.
How do you translate these conversations to actual projects across the Asia Pacific region?
In the Asia Pacific, we have launched LIXIL Experience Centres (LEC) that are designed as special venues to experience GROHE SPA’s curated private collections, crafted to the highest standards and quality of materials and finishes.
Together with our unique “Omotenashi” concierge service for personalised attention and project consultancy, we can flexibly customise GROHE SPA to the sophisticated preferences of discerning architects, designers and homeowners.
Conveniently located in Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Bandung, and upcoming in Hanoi, every LEC showcases the design influences and thinking behind GROHE SPA, alongside LIXIL’s multi-brand, multi-category offerings.
Looking ahead, Audrey Yeo and the LWT APAC team are excited about the continuous evolution and innovation within the architecture and design industry. By engaging deeply with the architecture and design community and addressing the ever-changing demands for personalised luxury and wellbeing, the GROHE SPA brand is committed to leading the way in creating environments that enhance human experiences. As they prepare for the upcoming World Architecture Festival, their goal remains steadfast: to inspire, collaborate, and drive the future of architectural design across the Asia Pacific and beyond.
Audrey Yeo is the Leader for LIXIL Water Technology (LWT), Asia Pacific. She was appointed to her role on 1 April, 2024 and is responsible for leading, developing, and accelerating LIXIL’s water technology business across Asia Pacific, a region poised as LIXIL’s future growth engine…Read More
