Concrete washbasin shaped like a fossil ammonite

HighTech's Ammonite concrete washbasin looks like a giant fossil ammonite, spiraling to nautilus nirvana. Link (via Cribcandy)

[#1 posted by Mitch, June 24, 2008 4:06 AM]

It's interesting looking, but it looks like it
would be hard to keep clean. Many places for razor
stubble to settle on the way to the drain, and
what would toothpaste do to it.

Maybe it's good for someone who as a bhangi
available to clean their bathroom.

[#2 posted by Cefeida, June 24, 2008 4:52 AM]

My inner child wants to break out the old Hot Wheels and have them race in Waterfall Land. :D Love this sink.

[#3 posted by Comedian, June 24, 2008 5:08 AM]

Big whorls have little whorls,
Which feed on their velocity;
Little whorls have smaller whorls,
And so on unto viscosity.

-- L. F. Richardson (1881-1953)

[#4 posted by Takuan, June 24, 2008 5:53 AM]

everyone thinks they are cute - until they see them hunt.

[#5 posted by franko, June 24, 2008 6:31 AM]

i'm with cefeida -- break out the hotwheels.

[#6 posted by AlfonsoElSabio, June 24, 2008 6:39 AM]

Ammonites: Quiet Killers of The Deep!

[#7 posted by Pasketti, June 24, 2008 6:58 AM]

Thought #1: This is probably hideously expensive.

Thought #2: It does look cool, though.

Thought #3: I have a bag of cement. Maybe I could whip up something like that in my garage.

Thought #4: Yeah, right.

[#8 posted by nzruss, June 24, 2008 7:29 AM]

like #1 said:

Designed by someone who has never cleaned a bathroom.

[#9 posted by insect_hooves, June 24, 2008 7:40 AM]

Well, that's one way of forcing the coriolis.

[#10 posted by Boba Fett Diop, June 24, 2008 7:40 AM]

Ahhh! Uzumaki!

[#11 posted by MarkM, June 24, 2008 8:32 AM]

uh, i agree with #1 about this being
1) amazing concept, 2) amazingly impractical.

if the ridges were removed, it would be much more
practical to keep clean. alas, it loses its
ammonite "essence" then.

otoh, if the ridges are retained, it makes a great
device to pan for gold! just need a sluice to bring
in river water to your bathroom sink!

in re: "bhangi"-- questionable, casual reference
there. might as well say "houseboy" or worse ...

[#12 posted by Antinous / Moderator, June 24, 2008 8:37 AM]

This looks quite easy to clean compared to the average self-rimming (I heard that) sink. A soft bristle brush and a sponge would do the trick quite easily. And what's with all the line returns? Will we be commenting in iambic pentameter next?

[#13 posted by Anonymous, June 24, 2008 9:37 AM]

I use to do this with the sand, love it. Want one

[#14 posted by seyo, June 24, 2008 10:11 AM]

doesn't look that hard to clean. the ridges seem to overlap in the downhill direction, so stuff like razor stubble would flow with the water. as #12 said, get a little brush, or even an old toothbrush for the corners. and then there's good old fashioned elbow grease. to have a cool sink like this, it's worth the extra 15 calories of energy spent cleaning it.

[#15 posted by angryhippo, June 24, 2008 10:25 AM]

#13: "get a little brush, or even an old toothbrush for the corners. and then there's good old fashioned elbow grease. to have a cool sink like this, it's worth the extra 15 calories of energy spent cleaning it."

1. Looks cool, yes. But not worth the extra cleaning time. It's a sink.

2. I'm old.

3. Get off my lawn.

[#16 posted by MarkM, June 24, 2008 10:25 AM]

@ #13:
not to quibble, but those ridges are made to accumulate detritus. just like when when using a sluice to filter out gold, all the heavier particles will build up at the ridges. whereas, in a normal sink its sufficient to just run the water and splash the edges, here you'll have to wipe it down, ridge after ridge, each time. shaving or brushing your teeth will leave you cursing the geological era that ammonites thrived in, and damning the geologists and paleobiologists who discovered them.

[#17 posted by Takuan, June 24, 2008 10:30 AM]

never sawn a fossil ammonite in half. Is the pattern consistent all the way ? Could you make this sink with a milled real one? It could go with that complete tyranosaurus skeleton I'm using for a swing-set

[#18 posted by seyo, June 24, 2008 10:30 AM]

Actually, upon further inspection, this has no corners, as the bottom is rounded, and the overlap of the ridges is very soft and has no edges. This would take no more cleaning than an ordinary sink.

[#19 posted by BadKittyM, June 24, 2008 10:38 AM]

Beautiful. I love the idea of art as functional household pieces. Practical? Likely not so much. Lovely? Oh, yes indeed. Even if it took a little extra effort to clean, having my eye and heart pleased so well is more than worth it.

That site is a time waster for real. I got lost in contemplation of the most beautiful countertops I've ever seen, made, of all things, of hand dyed color swirled concrete. They look like agate and jasper.

[#20 posted by sunbreaks, June 24, 2008 10:43 AM]

That is effin cool.

[#21 posted by stratojoe, June 24, 2008 10:53 AM]

Just a thought regarding the razor stubble -something tells me this isn't a sink meant for a place that has one little bathroom crammed with caked hair gel bottles. It feels more like a "bathroom in the hallway leading to the solarium" kind of thing ie; not a place where a tweny-thirtysomething would be shaving with a disposable razor. But what the fk do I know about anything anyway. My sink has a model boat in it.

[#22 posted by seyo, June 24, 2008 11:44 AM]

#16: "those ridges are made to accumulate detritus"

Sorry, but you are wrong. Look again. You will see that the ridge edges face downhill, like steps. Stuff will flow down. If the ridges faced the other way, they would collect stuff. But they don't. It's amazing to me how some people have virtually zero visual perception.

[#23 posted by Mindpowered, June 24, 2008 11:45 AM]

Canadoceras sp. af Yokoyami? Aptian - Albian
Benthic. Distribution California, British Columbia, Alberta, Japan

Do I want one? Yes.

[#24 posted by dainel, June 24, 2008 2:11 PM]

I wondered what this ammonites are. Looking at the pix, the first thing that came to mind is a nautilus. Wikipedia to the rescue ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonite

Octupus with shells. Weird.

[#25 posted by Sunfell, June 24, 2008 2:15 PM]

I just have one question: How many cats would it accomodate?

[#26 posted by markfrei, June 24, 2008 3:35 PM]

Maybe you all should try shaving in the shower.

[#27 posted by Perla, June 24, 2008 4:42 PM]

It doesn't look hard to clean and is not impractical Like a commenter said, the ridges are smooth and very rounded, and barely raised. They remind me of the ridges in a bundt cake mold which are not hard to clean. If anything, it will take an extra 15 seconds which is nothing, how pressed for time are you that you can't spare an extra 15 seconds for this gorgeous sink? Love IT! it looks so hypnotic.

[#28 posted by Arcadian, June 24, 2008 5:16 PM]

@ #10;

Wow, Boba Fett Diop, that's exactly what echoed in my head when I saw the picture. Rock on.

[#29 posted by California Will, June 24, 2008 5:43 PM]

It's a snail. I'm not saying that out of ignorance, but as a paleontologist. The best way to tell a snail from an ammonite if you can't see the internal structure, is how it coils. Ammonites are generally symmetrical in how they coil, whereas snails twist more in one direction, making more of a cone as they grow. As a sink, an ammonite would have to have the drain at the large end, whereas a snail can have it the way it's shown. Remember, snails are cool too and are every bit as ancient a lineage as their cephalopod brethren.

[#30 posted by glittertrash, June 24, 2008 11:17 PM]

Oh California Will, that's a heartfelt plea for equal regard for mollusk classes if ever I heard one! No more shall the cephalopods be the exclusive cool kids of the phylum, no more shall the snails be cast aside by those seeking mollusk glamour!

Snail or ammonite, I want this sink. I'm struggling to decipher the prices on the page, but it appears to be in the vicinity of a few hundred Euros, which is surprisingly reasonable. Not that my expertise in the field of the pricing of designer sinks extends very far, mind.

[#31 posted by Antinous / Moderator, June 24, 2008 11:26 PM]

Those are dimensions. You have to e-mail them for a quote. I tried adding it to my 'individual selective list' but still no price.

[#32 posted by Takuan, June 24, 2008 11:39 PM]

I've nothing against snails. They work hard,keep to themselves, have their own shops. It's just when they get drunk...

[#33 posted by CastanhasDoPara, June 25, 2008 12:03 AM]

Still waiting for the trilobite version. Built in dish rack you know.

[#34 posted by Takuan, June 25, 2008 12:12 AM]

I suppose you build up a sculpt with medium density fiberboard and use a router fo most of it. Stick in a drain and tailstock and pour your own concrete

[#35 posted by Vitaly Chernobyl, June 25, 2008 7:23 AM]

want!

[#36 posted by Concrete Diva, June 25, 2008 9:05 PM]

This is such a cool design. It is amazing what can be done with concrete and patience. I found other cool bathrooms and designs made of concrete at:
http://www.concreteideas.com/concrete_ideas/bath_vanities/bathroom_vanities?width=425&height=220
Bathrooms are fun again!

[#37 posted by Anonymous, July 24, 2009 8:19 AM]

Here is a useful photo gallery with lots of pictures of concrete sinks and vessels. Concrete Sink Photos