For decades, smart bathroom design has been an iterative process with small, incremental changes slowly being adopted as trends emerged. With the outbreak of COVID-19, this relaxed update schedule has been supercharged, with many leading designers throwing out the rulebook in favour of layouts with a greater focus on user comfort, personal hygiene, and preventing the spread of disease.
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What's currently legislated?
According to the latest edition of the National Construction Code (NCC 2022), buildings are to be provided with “…suitable sanitary facilities…” with “…space and facilities for personal hygiene”. While the code may be prescriptive regarding the number of facilities required and where they must be located, there are very few requirements as to how they must be designed.
While this allows for greater designer freedom, the lack of specifications can ultimately be detrimental to user health and safety. For instance, there are currently no requirements within the NCC for soap to be provided to users in public amenities. This issue saw significant reporting during the pandemic with many public health bodies like the Food Safety Information Council advocating for a rethink in policy. While opponents might cite an increased risk of vandalism, we ultimately believe their benefit to the local community is worth the risk of replacing the unit.
Despite these challenges, this greater freedom does allow thought leaders in architecture and design to develop their own set of best practices that align with the needs of their clients. With this in mind, we have attempted to consolidate the greatest of these trends into a single document to promote a wider discussion within the industry.
Wave goodbye to manual fixtures!
The first thing that often comes to mind when discussing the immediate impact of COVID-19 was the seemingly overnight mass adoption of touchless technology like sensor taps, automatic doors, and motion sensors. These fixtures help minimise the spread of germs and diseases by limiting common touchpoints between users. While the threat of COVID may have faded from public consciousness, these items are still being specified in huge numbers across the industry.
It’s not just sensor-operated versions of traditional wall- or basin-mounted fixtures that are being specified either. Many designers working on high-traffic, premium commercial projects have started to nominate touchless fixtures concealed behind the washroom mirror.
The impact of this is three-fold:
- Reduces the number of key touchpoints and difficult-to-clean areas around fixtures.
- Streamlines the bathroom's aesthetic by locating all relevant fixtures within arm's reach of any point on the washplane.
- Minimises mess created by users travelling from a basin to a hand-drying station.
Well-designed behind mirror platforms like RBA Group’s new Elouera Behind Mirror System can even implement sensors that tie into existing Building Management Systems to track the stock levels of consumables and notify staff if they are running low – ensuring users always have enough soap and paper to wash their hands.
However, we recommend facility managers implement some form of user training or education when employing integrated systems as unintuitive designs may have the opposite effect by frustrating users out of washing their hands. For instance, when designing the Elouera system, RBA spent considerable development time to ensure that the paper towel is always visible when users wash their hands. When observing similar units in the field, we noted users often missed the available paper towel because they couldn’t see them from a standing position or because it was not clearly labelled.
Smart Cubicle Design
Another stalwart that has remained unchanged for many years, the humble cubicle is set for a radical refresh. We have seen a marked increase in interest for full-height floor-to-ceiling partition systems such as those designed by Thrislington Cubicles, a leading partition manufacturer based in the UK. Tim Fisher, RBA Group Technical Manager notes:
“While they can be more of a design challenge compared to traditional cubicles, floor-to-ceiling systems offer many potential benefits to designers, owners and tenants. They limit the airflow between occupants, which reduces noise and odour leakage and minimises the spread of airborne contaminants for improved health outcomes and perfect privacy.”
Concerns about user privacy are also at the forefront when designing all-gender spaces, a growing trend in Australia that faces its own unique challenges including a lack of recognition within the NCC. Currently, the NCC only allows for ‘unisex’ washrooms in specific (and limited) circumstances such as for accessible use and for workplaces with low staff-counts. Those looking for an NCC-compliant all-gender bathroom outside of these use cases must instead demonstrate a performance solution. This might be changing in future iterations of the NCC with the Australian Building Codes Board recently opening consultation on the matter.
For those looking to pursue them in 2025, designers must be aware that all-gender spaces cannot be successfully developed in a vacuum. They require careful consideration of the basic needs of each sex without succumbing to common stereotypes. A great example is the inclusion of sanitary bins in all facilities. Unfortunately, despite being directly referenced in the NCC, they are often an afterthought or are skipped over entirely in the specification process, resulting in large, unsightly plastic bins being crammed into cubicles by the owner or tenant after the fact.
Regardless of whether the current facility occupant requires an all-gender space, adaptability is key in ensuring a long-term return on investment for property owners.
Keep a lid on it
Recent research published in the scientific journal Nature found that most commercial toilets emit energetic and rapidly spreading aerosol plumes on each flush that can reach up to 1.5m away from the source. These aerosols can then either settle on surfaces or remain suspended in the air until the next user unwittingly stumbles upon them.
There are two methods by which you can limit this spread. The first and easiest of which is to close the lid on the toilet. A study showcased in the Journal of Hospital Infection found that closing the lid on a toilet before flushing resulted in a 10-fold decrease in particulate matter being expelled into the surrounding environment. Despite these benefits however, it’s not always practical to supply a lid into commercial projects. They are more prone to vandalism, and touching the lid can negate many of the benefits that other touchless technologies may provide.
In these circumstances, vacuum drainage can also be an effective solution. Systems, like those employed by industry leaders Avac Australia in Optus Stadium (WA), utilise a large vacuum generating station to keep its conveyance system under constant pressure. Unlike typical gravity fixtures which expel air- and water-borne particulate upon flushing, vacuum toilets instead draw in air, significantly limiting the spread of particulates, making it a safer choice for those with lid-less toilet fixtures. This is supported by findings from the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) in the US which found no evidence of bacterial contamination from vacuum toilet flush plume in the surrounding environment.
Vacuum drainage also has other benefits, allowing waste to be transported above the slab, around site constraints and even uphill. It is also virtually impossible to clog and is extremely water efficient, requiring an average of 0.7L per flush.
Selecting Better Fixtures
There has never been a better time to be interested in industrial design for washroom fixtures. The wider societal push towards improving health and wellbeing has sparked the creation of many novel product categories.
Indoor air quality is a great example as it has quickly become a major concern for owners and occupants of high-capacity office and multi-res buildings. Beyond the immediate impacts of poor air quality like sensory and skin irritation, it can also facilitate the spread of airborne illnesses like COVID-19. A major way to combat this is to implement ‘active’ air-purification. Compared to ‘passive’ solutions like HEPA or carbon filters, ‘active’ air purifiers release sanitising chemicals that react with airborne contaminants to render them inert. This effectively removes a wider range of pollutants from the air including bacteria and viruses and can also aid in odour elimination and mould control.
Along similar lines, specifications for dryers are also evolving with an added focus on hygiene pushing designers towards lower-speed evaporative dryers. This is thought to reduce the risk of dangerous airborne microorganisms being blasted from users’ hands into the rest of the washroom by a high-speed blower.
Similarly, many establishments are moving away from trough-style urinals in favour of single-user urinals with dividers. As with many of the trends we’ve listed thus far, this is driven primarily by concerns over cleanliness, user privacy and social distancing however compelling research from UK-based manufacturer Ecoprod has noted that it may even improve traffic flow and water efficiency. While troughs theoretically cover more floor space than urinals, Ecoprod found most users to be unwilling to squeeze into gaps when there were already multiple users at the trough. They also noted a considerable increase in average bathroom visit duration due to a ‘stage fright’ effect when employing troughs that was not evident when using individual urinals.
New-Age Finishes & Materials
Your choices in raw materials can also impact heavily on how your washroom contributes to user health. Many products now advertise their anti-microbial properties, but which should you trust?
While it has been used as an accent piece in interior design for years, copper is seeing a resurgence in modern Australian design in part due to its unique chemical properties. It’s a durable material with high corrosion resistance and an unmistakable aesthetic that only becomes more unique as the metal patinas. Additionally, it’s naturally resistant to microbial growth, making it desirable in high-end, high-traffic applications. Unfortunately, it is also costly and prone to vandalism and theft.
Those looking for these properties in a more commercially friendly package may be drawn to PVD. PVD or Physical Vapour Deposition is a process in which a solid material is vapourised in a vacuum chamber and deposited, atom by atom, onto an item to form a thin layer that changes the item’s finish. This deposition also penetrates the surface, improving finish adhesion and durability. Compared to electroplating and powder coating, PVD can also be more environmentally friendly as it doesn’t typically produce the chemical waste associated with these processes. This process can impart the chemical properties and surface finish of a donor metal, e.g. copper, onto the recipient material.
For a more cost-effective solution, many fixtures can now be procured with additional anti-microbial technologies built-in, which can greatly impact user health and comfort. For instance, RBA Group’s recently released Steri+Shield™-equipped grab rails employ two EPDM rubber seals at each fixing point that inhibit the growth of common washroom microorganisms like E. Coli and S. Aureus by as much as 99% over a 24-hour period. While this is not a replacement for maintenance and wiping surfaces down, it is an added layer of protection on a key touchpoint often used by vulnerable community members.
Even materials that don’t directly have anti-microbial properties can benefit user health and well-being. Epoxy tile grout, for example, is made from two-part epoxy resins and filler powders to make it a non-porous alternative to regular concrete grouting for tiling bathrooms. This makes it considerably more waterproof, improving its mould resistance and allowing it to be cleaned with harsher chemicals without degradation.
Why bother?
The benefits of the above design choices are clear. Not only do they enhance hygiene and user comfort, but they also make spaces more attractive to potential tenants. In the post-COVID world, businesses are more conscious than ever of the need to provide safe and hygienic environments for their employees and customers. Bathrooms that incorporate these design features make for crucial selling points to educated decision-makers.
While COVID-19 may have driven these changes by necessity, they have resulted in bathrooms that are more hygienic, comfortable, and inclusive. As we move forward, it's clear that these design principles will continue to shape the bathrooms of the future.
Looking to comment?
How have bathrooms you’ve visited or designed changed since the pandemic ‘ended’? What other trends do you anticipate seeing in the future? Share your thoughts by getting in touch at info@rba.com.au or by calling 1300 788 778.
