tal engel's otaku woven bathtub draws on traditional asian boat building techniques

tal engel’s ‘otaku’ woven bathtub draws on traditional asian boat building techniques
all images courtesy of tal engel

berlin based designer tal engel has designed a bathtub which draws influences from traditional asian boat building techniques. ‘otaku’ looks at the unique relation between sailing and bathing – as states of mind, by identifying the boat and the bathtub as two functional entities. the design creates a paradoxical analogy, from which an ‘inside-out’ theory emerges; the concept of washing in a bathtub is completely the opposite from the idea of floating in a boat – the inside becomes the outside. hence, the ‘outside’ of the boat became the ‘inside’ of the bath.

otaku’s design attempts to draw a portrait of a special relationship between our body and water, based on this notion. the bathtub is made of a pressed woven veneer sheet and a steel frame. the pressed surface is coated with a polymeric material which allows water resistance and structural strength to carry heavy weights.

tal engel’s ‘otaku’ bathtub was presented at imm cologne 2016.

‘otaku’ is inspired by asian boat building techniques

the design is water resistant and strong

the conecpt is derived from an ‘inside-out’ theory

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: hollie smith | designboom