Washrooms (or the lack thereof) are rarely the highlight of a camping trip. But a new destination for nature lovers in Long Beach, Washington, makes for an elegant exception. Japanese outdoor lifestyle company Snow Peak worked with local firm EFA Architect — led by Erik Fagerland with his son Scott as lead designer — to bring the elevated experience of its branded campsites in Japan to the North American market. The architects were tasked with designing a welcome pavilion and store, as well as the wash house and a spa.

In keeping with the aesthetic of Snow Peak’s Japanese campsites, the wash house is finished in shou sugi ban cladding from Nakamoto Forestry.

With a modest budget and big ambitions, the firm set out to create a campsite that stayed true to the company’s ethos. To that end, they borrowed from the architectural language of Snow Peak’s original locations, which spanned from elementary structures akin to college dorms to the meticulous, minimalist works of Kengo Kuma (who also designed the cabins, or jyubakos, dotted across the Long Beach site).

An exposed wood structure lends the wash house a sense of warmth and complements the serene atmosphere of the nearby Ofuro Spa.

“We knew we were going to go Northwest modern and bring Japanese architecture into it,” Erik explains. But in lieu of the big shed roof and exposed glulam common in the local vernacular, they opted for a more subtle approach: simple pitched forms rendered in a minimal palette of charred shou sugi ban siding with blonde wood accents.

The wash house’s interior features black tiled shower stalls that mirror the exterior palette of Japanese cypress.

In addition to replicating the Snow Peak aesthetic, EFA also translated the company’s core values into the campground architecture. “Takibi time, that communal time spent around the fire, is central to everything they do, and so we considered that in all our designs. Every building is sort of communal,” says Scott. While the wash house includes individual black-tiled shower stalls and restrooms for privacy, an expansive sink station with a durable concrete backsplash and countertops serves as a social hub for chores like dishwashing.

The sauna at Snow Peak’s Long Beach campfield is finished in Nakamoto Forestry’s Hinoki wood.

The open-air Ofuro Spa, meanwhile, offers a quiet space to further commune with nature. “The Ofuro has a really simple roofline, and there’s not much else to that building. It’s just kind of sitting there in the trees. We strived to make it clean and blend into the landscape,” Scott explains. The architects were also mindful of scale, ensuring the structure didn’t compete with the beauty of the surrounding wetlands. With a heated soaking pool, sauna and cold plunge, all with picturesque views of nature, it’s a far cry from the rusticity of traditional camping. “It’s booked every moment it’s open,” says Erik.

Significantly reducing water consumption while still delivering a satisfying shower experience, the Grohe Everstream is the latest addition to Grohe’s sustainable bathroom products. The cutting-edge water-circulating process curtails water usage by up to 75 per cent and energy by up to 66 per cent (for a 10-minute shower). How it works: Starting with fresh water, the integrated mechanism is manually switched after sudsing up and shampooing to pump the grey water collected in the drain through a circuit that hygienically treats it (while also maintaining its temperature) and recycles it through the system. Once the shower is complete, it auto-cleans for the next user.

A far cry from its bulky predecessors, the Kohler Loope waterless toilet has a minimalist design that doesn’t compromise on comfort. Made from recycled polyethylene, the container-based fixture was developed by Kohler’s in-house incubator, Innovation for Good, to address the safe sanitation needs of densely populated urban environments where access to clean water is not always guaranteed. Functional without water, electricity or a sewer connection, the modular loo has separate and easy-to-access (and empty) waste compartments and can accommodate a family of four with twice-weekly servicing.

Santa Monica–based studio Minarc designed the RUBBiSH ReFlow sink to help minimize daily water wastage and promote conscious consumption. Made from crisp white Corian and lined with a recycled rubber mat, the elongated sink recycles and repurposes water from daily rituals like face washing and toothbrushing to be used for toilet flushing. A gentle slope in the basin drains every drop directly into the tank, creating an “automatic, continuous and passive conservation of water.”

New tapware brand Amphora partnered with Studio Adolini for its debut faucet collection, Reel. Defined by a linear purity, the taps and mixers feature a shared circular handle with vertical grooves for textural impact. Made with a 316-steel exterior (in hand-brushed steel, black PVD or copper PVD) and lead-free brass interior, the faucets have an inset aerator and flow control valve to ensure a smooth stream of water.

Influenced by modern sculptures, expertly tailored fashion and industrial design, New York studio Gachot appointed Finot for Waterworks with clean lines and refined details. Balancing rigour and simplicity, the extensive collection (which includes lighting, accessories and hardware) is offered in four standard finishes — chrome, nickel, brass and dark nickel — and can be custom-ordered in copper, gold, burnished brass and more.

Milanese studio Calvi Brambilla calculated a precise geometric super circle — or squircle — to form the handles of its Super collection for QuadroDesign. The combined square and circle offers a generous surface for the hand and is accompanied by slender, slightly bent spouts in brushed stainless steel. The suite includes basin mixers, shower fixtures and more.

Well-proportioned, highly tactile and ergonomic, the Flora collection by Vincent Van Duysen for Fantini is pleasing to the touch. At once modern, industrial and charming, the series — finished in a sophisticated matte gunmetal PVD — is defined by its single and double levers, which gracefully fan outward and lend the fixtures a nostalgic touch.

Referencing the Old World architecture and elegant bridges of European cities through classical curves and fluted detailing, the Carinthia collection by Vogt has a timeless appeal. The solid brass bodies can be finished in chrome, brushed or polished nickel and brushed gold with a matching or contrasting matte black handle.

Curved corners and large round handles lend the Dot vanity from Hastings Bath Collection a playful expression. Crafted in Italy using responsibly sourced solid ash, the units can be fronted with a set of double doors, two soft-close drawers or one drawer with an open base. A palette of 19 bold and neutral colourways is available for both the cabinets and graphic handles, which can be stained in matching or contrasting tones. The bathroom storage series also includes mirrors in multiple shapes (each with a trademark circle detail) and wall-mounted storage units.

Studio Adolini equates its Picture collection for Scarabeo Ceramiche to a photographer’s composition or an artist’s canvas, in that it allows for completely personalized compilations. A series of sleek metal frames — three freestanding and three suspended — form the backdrop for one of nine storage elements (with or without open compartments), a round or rectangular mirror and a shelf. Further, four standard finishes (white, black, dark oak and Lindberg oak), 10 premium matte-lacquered colourways and two textures (fluted or smooth) are available to choose from.

Designed by Italian architect Antonio Citterio, the Aurena collection from Duravit features impeccably balanced proportions based on the golden ratio. For the vanity (freestanding and wall-mount) and console units, a consistent through-line is an aluminum frame with integrated towel holders for practicality. Configurable with open or closed storage — or a combination of both in some versions — the vanities are topped with ceramic surfaces and can be paired with an integrated or above-counter Citterio-designed washbasin. Multiple materials and finishes are available for the series, which includes coordinating bathtubs, toilets, a bidet and mirror.

Laundry Space by Idelfonso Colombo for Scavolini integrates elements from the laundry room — folding surfaces, drying racks, a concealed ironing board, pull-out trolleys and storage units for appliances and accoutrements — into the bathroom to max out the space’s functional potential. With refined styling and a range of material finish options, the organizational system can be paired with all of the brand’s modular bathrooms; a specially designed mineral-marble washbasin with coordinating washboard can serve the needs of both spaces.

Once a rabbit warren of small rooms, narrow corridors and an isolated kitchen, this 1950s apartment near Madrid’s El Retiro Park is now spacious, light-filled and splashed with colour thanks to architect Javier Jiménez Iniesta of local design practice Studio Animal (which also has an office in Barcelona). Addressing the overly compartmentalized lay-out by doing away with it completely, Jiménez Iniesta clustered Casa Nube living, dining and reading areas into one all-white, three-metre-high communal space that is open to the kitchen. This move not only created a free-flowing floor plan that better supports the mother and son who live here, it also lets sunlight pour in from two sides and allows for natural temperature regulation through cross-ventilation. The designer then sequestered the bathrooms and bedrooms behind a truly spectacular intervention: a sculptural curved wall that signifies the transition from public to private.

“The cloud,” as Jiménez Iniesta refers to it, is a self-supporting wall (constructed from drywall with a metal substructure that is anchored to the floor and ceiling) in a compelling semicircular geometry, with two arches opening to reveal passages to the bedrooms (one for the homeowner and one for her son) through two symmetrical yet separate bathrooms. “The house is born from the idea of passing through, of the vaporous, the soft, the voluminous,” says Jiménez Iniesta of the unique arrangement. “Passing through that cloud had to be an experience.

The curvatures continue inside, dictating the usage of each bathroom by forming individual nooks for the toilet, sink, shower (in the son’s space) and bathtub (in the mother’s). In both, every surface is finished with 2.5-by-2.5-centimetre glass mosaic tiles, compounding the architectural interest through colour saturation — all-pink chosen by her, all-tangerine chosen by him. Serving as intermediate spaces, the bathrooms create a sense of ritual for the inhabitants as they move from the privacy of their bedrooms to the main shared living area.

For architects Carlos Rebolo and Alejandro Caraballo — who co-founded their Madrid-based firm CRAC in 2020 — the purpose of architecture is not simply to build but to investigate and examine how one interacts with and is influenced behaviourally by their surroundings. So when it came to renovating his own apartment (which he shares with his partner), Rebolo naturally experimented by transforming a conventional three-bedroom layout with a closed-off living room and kitchen into a bright, open one-bedroom space centred around a large metal-wrapped cube that contains the bathroom, as well as storage for a study on one end and the bedroom closet on the other.

Dubbed Metalcore, the square volume is clad in a turquoise wavy metal skin that is perforated to play with transparency and privacy. “The perforated sheet allows you to see through the skin, not with a clear view but a mysterious one,” says Rebolo. “[It] subverts the classic concept of a bathroom by transforming its programmatic conception into a playful and hedonistic one.”

Conceived as a geode or hidden gem, Metalcore itself pairs rectangular glazed tiles in the same watery tones as the metal exterior with white dimpled tiles, the two working together to create a calm, spa-like atmosphere. Designed as a “rough subtraction of the wall,” the bathtub can be glimpsed from outside through the hazy veil; mirrors and translucent doors continue the “game of glances and hidden places.”

“The colour of the skin relies on the concept of understanding the core as a strange element that crashed into the domestic space,” says Rebolo of the unexpected structure that now dominates his apartment.

For those looking for high-design heating options for the colder months, these three outdoor saunas offer an escape in the comfort of your own backyard.

Tapping into the long-celebrated tradition of the Finnish sauna, architect Rodolfo Dordoni designed the Cabanon for Italy’s Effe to be a destination unto itself. Corrugated aluminum exterior walls (painted Orange, Moss or Cement) withstand even harsh climates, while the interiors are lined with heat-treated aspen wood in smooth or boiserie textures. Inspired by Le Corbusier’s cabin with the same name, the outdoor sauna comes in five versions (three with a deck, two without); practical touches like a hand-held shower and hooks for robes and towels enhance the experience.

Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle students Emil Löber, Friedrich Gerlach and Sophia Reißenweber developed the award-winning Mobile Sauna prototype as a place where people can gather and relax on campus. Far from conventional, the microarchitecture is super lightweight and can be easily transported thanks to its clever wheelbarrow-inspired construction: The steel tube standing frame turns on an axis to become a drawbar to pull and move the unit. Translucent polycarbonate walls blur the divide between indoors and outdoors, three wooden benches accommodate up to five inside, and the external fire is fed waste wood from the German university’s model construction workshops.

Specializing in modern and sustainable prefab cabins and homes for both residential and hospitality settings, U.K.-based Koto recently released this flat-pack design for the outdoors. Made from quality eco-responsible timber with charred timber exterior cladding, the striking structure delivers a traditional sauna experience in lightweight panels that are easily assembled on site by a small team. All structural boards come precut, numbered and pre-finished, and include insulation, a vapour barrier and a breather membrane. With crisp, minimalist lines, the outdoor sauna is a true expression of the brand’s attention to detail and expert blending of Scandinavian and Japanese design principles.