Laufen and Roca open Zagreb Gallery, a space for architecture, design and professional exchange
Set in a 19th-century building in the city’s Lower Town, the Laufen Roca Zagreb Gallery features interiors by Snøhetta.
Roca Group, a global leader in bathroom solutions, has officially opened the new Laufen Roca Zagreb Gallery, which joins the Group’s international network of Galleries. Conceived for architects, interior designers and specifiers, it is a place to discover materials, explore new solutions for the bathroom and engage with the professional community.
The opening strengthens a long-standing relationship with Croatia. Roca Group’s industrial presence in nearby Zaprešić has made Laufen and Roca reference names in sanitary ceramics, wellness and architectural bathroom solutions across the country and the wider Adria region. In Zagreb, this regional manufacturing heritage now meets the international design culture of both brands, in a city long shaped by the encounter between Central European tradition and Mediterranean openness.
“Zagreb has a vibrant architecture and design community, and the Laufen Roca Zagreb Gallery is our commitment to it. Bringing our two brands together in one space, we offer architects and designers a single point of reference for bathroom design, backed by our long-standing presence in Croatia”, says Martina Maricic Meic, Operations Director at Roca Croatia.
A historic building, reinterpreted by Snøhetta
The Gallery occupies a residential building completed in 1894, within the protected heritage zone of the Lower Town (Donji Grad). Snøhetta has redesigned its interior around “Matter”, the brand presentation the practice developed with Laufen, in which matter means both material and significance. In Zagreb, the concept brings Laufen and Roca together, translating the identity of each brand into a shared material language.
The raw materials of ceramics and fittings set the tone of the Greeting Space. A curved copper wall guides visitors inside, facing an area finished in deep earth tones. Exposed brick and restored timber beams remain in view: the existing building is part of the design, not a backdrop to it.
“It was important to us to use the concept Matter as a sophisticated way to experience both brands and
its products – and to integrate them with the spaces, structures and materials of the existing building. This combination creates unique spaces for the Laufen Roca Zagreb Gallery and an extraordinary atmosphere for the brand presentation”, explains Stefanie Budweiser, Interior Architect at Snøhetta Studio Innsbruck.
Materials to touch, ideas to test
On the upper floors, curated brand spaces present washbasins, toilets, furniture, faucets, bathtubs, shower trays and accessories. Alongside them, a more playful display sets products against the brick walls that let visitors view pieces separate from a curated setting, a way for professionals to visualize and discover solutions for their own projects.
A place for dialogue
Beyond its role as an exhibition space, Laufen Roca Zagreb Gallery is conceived as a platform for exchange with the architecture and design community. Talks, events and professional encounters explore topics related to architecture, design, materials and contemporary bathroom culture.
In Zagreb, this purpose has a floor of its own. Beneath the roof, the Matter Space is dedicated to talks, presentations and meetings, while digital areas let visitors explore both brands beyond the physical displays.
The Gallery also supports architects and specifiers in their day-to-day practice, as a place to compare materials and finishes, develop and specify projects, and meet clients surrounded by products.
Laufen Roca Zagreb Gallery becomes part of Roca Group's international network of Galleries, spaces created to foster connections with architecture and design communities in different cities around the world while responding to their individual local contexts. Today, the network includes Galleries in London, Barcelona, Madrid, Shanghai, São Paulo, Sydney and Cologne, among other cities.
About Roca Group
Roca Group is the global leader in the design, manufacturing, and sale of bathroom products for architecture, construction, and interior design. Founded in 1917, it combines tradition and knowledge with a passion for innovation and respect for the environment, in order to meet the demands of customers and contribute to improving the well-being of society.
With renowned global brands such as Laufen and Roca and with sustainability as a key element in all its manufacturing processes, Roca Group promotes a responsible corporate culture in the 170 countries where it operates and in its 78 production centers, thanks to the daily commitment of its 20,000 professionals. This approach has been recognized with the Platinum Medal from EcoVadis, a global standard in corporate sustainability assessments, for its outstanding performance.
This family business is a market leader in Europe, Latin America, and India. It also has a significant presence in China and the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and Africa. As a result, it is a world leader in its sector.
About LAUFEN
Founded in Switzerland in 1892, LAUFEN is a leading global bathroom brand combining Swiss precision, design excellence, industrial expertise and continuous innovation. For more than 130 years, the company has advanced bathroom design through its expertise in materials, technologies and manufacturing processes. From ceramics, faucets, furniture and bathtubs to installation systems and digital solutions, LAUFEN develops complete bathroom solutions that combine design, quality, performance and responsible use of resources.
With a strong international design culture, LAUFEN collaborates with some of the world’s leading architects and designers to create products, collections and spaces that redefine the contemporary bathroom. Its longstanding expertise in ceramic manufacturing and deep knowledge of materials and production processes enable technological innovation, which in turn opens new possibilities for design, from Saphirkeramik to water-saving technologies and the world's first electric tunnel kiln for sanitary ceramics.
Sustainability is integrated throughout LAUFEN’s approach to product development and manufacturing, with a focus on reducing water and resource consumption, advancing circularity and reducing environmental impact across the product lifecycle.
Since 1999, LAUFEN has been part of Roca Group, which has a commercial presence in 170 countries, holds an EcoVadis Platinum corporate sustainability rating and participates in the United Nations Global Compact, supporting its principles for more responsible and inclusive business practices.
About Snøhetta
For almost 40 years, Snøhetta has designed some of the world’s most notable public and cultural projects. Snøhetta kick-started its career in 1989 with the competition-winning entry for the new library of Alexandria, Egypt. This was later followed by the commission for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, and the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in New York City, among many others.
Since its inception, the practice has maintained its original transdisciplinary approach, and often integrates a combination of architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, product design and art across its projects. The collaborative nature between Snøhetta's different disciplines is an essential driving force of the practice.
Today, Snøhetta has a global presence, with studios in seven locations spanning from Oslo to Paris, Innsbruck, New York, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Melbourne.
