Samuel Ross for Kohler: A New Grammar of Home Design
by @industrialkonzept Team
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The evolution of bath design mirrors the evolution of society itself. From ancient communal spaces to today’s hyper-personalized sanctuaries, bathrooms – often overlooked in cultural discourse – reveal deep truths about ritual, hierarchy, and desire. Once shared spaces, they became private domains through the rise of industrial society and modern urban living. By the mid-20th century, pastel porcelain fixtures in suburban homes marked affluence and social ambition.
Today, in our post-industrial age, the bathroom is being reimagined – no longer just functional, but expressive. A reflection of shifting values, it now embodies ecological awareness, technological progress, and a renewed focus on craftsmanship. Even our most routine behaviors are shaped by deeper cultural codes. And now, as seen in the Arizona home of NBA star Devin Booker, bathroom design is entering a new chapter: one where objects become symbols and daily rituals become moments of meaning.
At the forefront of this shift is British-Caribbean designer and artist Dr. Samuel Ross MBE. Known for founding the fashion label A-COLD-WALL*, Ross explores cultural identity, civic responsibility, and material innovation through a multidisciplinary practice spanning fashion, spatial design, and product.
His collaboration with Kohler – a global leader in kitchen and bath design – is a case study in the fusion of engineering and artistic provocation. Kohler partnered with Ross’s British atelier, SR_A (Studio Research Attire), to create the KOHLER x SR_A FORMATION Collection, a limited-edition series that reimagines everyday fixtures as sculptural icons. Now relaunched through Basic.Space, the collection includes the Formation 01 Bathroom Faucet and the Formation 02 Eir Smart Toilet – now part of Booker’s personal residence.
Originally debuting at Design Miami and expanding at Milan Design Week, the FORMATION Collection challenges conventional notions of the bath space. Central to both objects is “Haptic Orange” – a vivid, high-impact color referencing Kohler’s 1967 “Tiger Lily” finish while drawing from Ross’s visual language of urgency, clarity, and coded symbolism. In rooms often designed to disappear, this orange insists on being seen.
KOHLER x SR_A FORMATION Collection, as seen in Devin Booker’s home
The aesthetic balance between nature and machine is central to the collection. The angular form of the toilet evokes water slicing through stone, while the faucet’s cylindrical silhouette suggests a more fluid, organic rhythm. Both are realized through advanced molding and tooling techniques, reflecting Ross’s ongoing commitment to material exploration and industrial precision.
As the home becomes a space of self-expression and storytelling, the bath is no longer peripheral. The presence of the FORMATION Collection in Devin Booker’s home affirms its cultural significance. These fixtures are not passive utilities – they are spatial statements. With Ross’s design philosophy, even acts like washing or flushing become deliberate, reflective gestures.
The KOHLER x SR_A partnership is a reminder that the most overlooked spaces often hold the most symbolic weight. Design here does not merely observe who we are – it projects who we aspire to be.
Available in extremely limited quantities, the Formation 01 Bathroom Faucet and Formation 02 Eir Smart Toilet are available exclusively on Basic.Space.
Photography courtesy of Kohler
