THE ROOM - THE BATH: UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR THE SENIOR-FRIENDLY BATH

The multidisciplinary research group 'The Room - The Bath' under the leadership of Prof. Fritz Frenkler, Chair for Industrial Design at Technische Universität München, develops strategies in collaboration with feddersenarchitekten, Berlin, and other partners - including Villeroy & Boch - to design baths in existing buildings in a senior-friendly and financially feasible manner. The initial prototypes shown to an interested public at various international trade fairs received high praise. In recognition of their efforts, the industrial partners were awarded the 'universal design expert favourite + universal design consumer favourite 2015' certificate

People's life expectancy is increasing. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, this, combined with a reduced birth rate, is bringing about a serious change in the age structure. In the year 2060 more than one third of the population in Germany will be over the age of 65. The number of 80 year-olds in 2050 will be 10 million. By comparison, there were approximately 4 million Germans over 80 years of age in 2008, which demonstrates the magnitude upcoming change. This shift in the age structure will entail new tasks and challenges. An absolute right in a tolerant society is participation. An elementary component to ensure that this right can be exercised in accessibility in all areas of life. The most important location in a person's life is a safe home, where they can be at ease and live as long as possible without the assistance of others. While the requirements of the elderly are already being taken into account in new residential buildings at the time of construction, or at least in the sense of a possible later adaptation, retrofitting is an increasingly urgent matter for the majority of existing buildings and is a major challenge facing all parties involved - particularly the housing industry.

Universal baths for existing buildings

The research initiative 'The Room - The Bath', consisting of the initiators, Feddersen Architekten, Berlin, and the Chair for Industrial Design, Prof. Fritz Frenkler at the Faculty for Architecture of TUM, commonly developed various bath prototypes in collaboration with industrial partners - including Villeroy & Boch. This makes it possible, in a financially feasible manner, to retrofit existing typical bath forms having only four to five square metres, such as those which are often found in the smallest residences in existing buildings. This adaptation of existing residences must not necessarily be compatible with the high demands of accessibility, according to the research members. For this reason, the research group is developing user-oriented or hybrid solutions in the sense of a universal design, which also incorporates the requirements of stationary care. 'For us it was of particular importance to develop planning assurance for the housing industry and affordable solutions for renovation of existing properties. Conversions and renovations in existing buildings must be designed such that they can be used sensibly and safely to accommodate as many user groups as possible,' explained Kannengiesser, Director of Product Management CSW Projects at Villeroy & Boch.

Prototypes with Architectura

The initial prototypes were presented in 2015 at the Munich Creative Business Week MCBW and the international trade fairs BAU, ISH and ALTENPFLEGE, where they were met with high praise. The professional audience saw the enormous potential in this future theme. The prototypes were equipped with existing products from the companies Villeroy & Boch AG, Kermi, Hansa, Pressalit Care, Jung, Küffner and Ambright. Villeroy & Boch contributed sanitary products from the Architectura collection. The wash basin has been designed such that it can be used in cross-generational baths, with its wide surface and handles invisibly integrated into the underside of the washing stand. The wall-mounted WC is equipped with the rimless DirectFlush technology, which combines intelligent design for quick and easy cleaning with optimal water guidance in order to meet maximum demands on hygiene. Three different prototypes were assembled in the research lab of the chair for Industrial Design at TU München and further optimised on the basis of researcher, manufacturer, architectural, and user criteria, as well as the contributions of specialists from the care and the housing industries. Prof. Fritz Frenkler reports that the prototypes were rebuilt as many as 15 times on the basis of various perspectives and continuously adapted to meet the respective requirements.

Affordable solutions for the housing industry

The requirements of the housing industry, such as financial feasibility, reduced conversion times, competence expansion of tradesmen, openness of the systems, durability and compatibility with retrofitting, were also an important emphasis. An important goal is to offer implementable and affordable product solutions for the housing industry, municipalities, and interest groups in order to provide planning assurance and to ensure that the ageing clientèle of lessors can remain in their own home for as long as possible. 'In a second research phase, marketing strategies now being developed, will be transformed into sample solutions in standardised bath equipment packages which can be used in mass quantities by housing construction companies for the renovation of their properties, etc. The benefits would be financial savings due to the reduced planning costs and a reduced number of planning participants, as well as clear costs transparency,' explained Michael Schlenke of The Caretakers. 'The central guiding idea for all our activities is a user-oriented, quality-conscious, price-conscious, 'grandchild-friendly', sustainable strategy. It is a matter of the well-known normative structures as well as a socioeconomic position which makes it possible for all generations, and particularly the elderly, to remain in their homes for as long as possible in a self-determined manner without having to dispense with user-friendliness, meaningfulness, comfort, and safety,' summarised Thomas Bade.