Time to be bold: A single curve shapes the Hum tapware collection

In contemporary design and architecture, boldness is often associated with colour, scale and excessiveness. But this isn’t always the case. Boldness can also be restrained, its confidence in its ability to stand on its own, resistant to trends.

Unconcerned with fashion or novelty, designer Philippe Malouin distils objects to their essential form, creating pieces that feel both radical and timeless. Stripped of excess, Hum is inspired by the permanence and purity of its material, with a single curve the defining form.

With safe, familiar silhouettes often dominating bathroom spaces, Sean Paterson, Director at SA Plumbing Supply, knew this collection of taps for QuadroDesign had to be part of his catalogue. Each unique in its own way, all QuadroDesign collections can be mixed and matched, with mixers from one collection sitting beautifully beside different spout options. “It was time to introduce something that brings a different energy to the market,” he says. “The New Zealand market is rather conservative when it comes to tapware, dare I say boring… It’s time to be bold.”

Rather than embellishing with unnecessary decoration or coating the tapware in various colours, Philippe created difference with restraint. Allowing the stainless steel to speak for itself, subtle curves, fine tolerances and a graceful silhouette create warmth and balance. “I was drawn to its clarity and the sense of permanence it held,” Philippe shares.

Grounded by a cylindrical base, a soft curve emerges, much like the shape of a hummingbird’s beak, which inspired the name of the collection. “The curve in question became the spout; the spout influenced the whole hum range. The curve can be found throughout the whole range, and a version of the simple cylinder has become all of the handles and dials, even the hand shower.”

The New Zealand market is rather conservative when it comes to tapware, dare I say boring… It’s time to be bold.

Philippe’s work is often described as a process of editing, removing elements until only the essential remains. When the first Hum prototypes were made, there was a sense of resolution. Everything was in balance.

“I remember looking at the prototype and realising that any further refinement would be indulgent. The balance was already there, between the utility of the object and the sculptural elegance I was aiming for. It was that moment of restraint, of knowing the design was resolved by its spareness, that I felt it was complete,” he shares.

Rather than shouting its existence, the Hum collection sits quietly in a space, light softly reflecting from its brushed surfaces. Its unexpected form draws the eye, subtly enhancing through its simplicity and precision.