AXOR on Compact Luxury: The Future Laboratory

Luxury living spaces are changing. Rapid urbanization has lifted consumers’ expectations higher than ever and left space at a premium. In response, a new notion of Compact Luxury is emerging that encapsulates the modern high end in a streamlined space. Design is being refined to be perfectly sufficient rather than excessively material, and to favor a simple, rather than a superfluous, approach.
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The Collective Canary Wharf, London. — Copyright: The Collective Canary Wharf, London

The United Nations projects that more than two-thirds of the world’s population will inhabit urban areas by 2050. City-living will have a key and lasting influence on the new luxury mindset: Once defined by materialism and excess, the new luxury will prioritize access and flexibility in a globalized world. As people become ever more connected, the ability to live a streamlined and nomadic lifestyle—one in which the individual moves seamlessly from city to city—is a new essential for the luxury consumer. In response, compact spaces that embrace minimal design and multi-functionalism are increasingly desirable. Design is being refined to be perfectly sufficient rather than egregiously excessive. Meanwhile, as we spend more time at home, small spaces will need to become multi-functional and multi-modal, serving many different purposes at once, all in the same space.

A new definition of luxury.

The emerging Compact Luxury trend favors the simple over the superfluous. Especially in compact spaces, people are seeking ways to personalize and customize the available living area to suit their values and interests. They are opting for sustainable appliances that can be individualized. Increasingly, luxury is becoming aligned with concern for the planet, and many high-end consumers now link personal satisfaction with low-impact products that boost collective and environmental well-being. By harnessing technological innovation and cutting-edge design, caterers to the Compact Luxury trend will grant consumers new levels of customization. Spaces will be recalibrated and reset, offering new environments of relaxation and recuperation. Moving away from the open-plan and transparent spaces that used to define luxury, Compact Luxury will embrace the private and the enclosed, creating areas that, while small, greatly enhance the individual’s sense of comfort and enjoyment.

The future of urban living.

AXOR is exploring these considerations in its approach to Compact Luxury. While the solutions are many, one thing is clear: The new urban luxury is not measured only in square meters. It is conveyed by archetypal designs that endure, expressing one’s individuality while fulfilling the desire to live consciously, holistically, harmoniously. It is reflected in the quality of one’s private time, the satisfaction in performing one’s personal rituals, and the sense of well-being that ensues.