washrooms
Universal appeal
Bathrooms for disabled users have tended to feel constrained by DDA regulations and compromised on style. Until now that is.
WHY do we compromise on style when creating bathrooms for disabled users? That was the question Ian Dutch of bathroom consultants Utopia Projects asked himself when he set about to challenge building regulations and develop the new bathroom design concept AX-ES. Working with a number of partners including architects Paul Davis + Partners, Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) access consultant Eileen Slater and a range of manufacturers, the team has created a bathroom concept that not only looks good, but is suitable for everyone, disabled or not. Dutch, who has worked with architects and designers for 15 years, has completed a lot of DDA bathrooms in his time, but always felt they weren’t good enough. “There were never products in the marketplace for architects and designers to deliver what they wanted to achieve. It’s about time manufacturers started producing products that not only tick the box for regulations, but also look great,” he says. AX-ES challenges the assumption that meeting every detail of the DDA necessarily results in a highly functional rather than an aesthetically pleasing environment. As well
as offering disabled guests a more enjoyable experience, the concept has been designed to alleviate the problems of dissatisfaction or room refusal from other guests. Disability aids are discretely melded into the overall design, or featured as stylish comfort extras for anyone to enjoy, so that the bathroom no longer looks or feels different. Features include a front-located joy stick on mixer tap for easy wheelchair use, a bi-fold shower door instead of shower curtains, aesthetic
and performance leather on grab bars and back rests, and colour mood lighting. With around five per cent of hotel
bathrooms classed as suitable for disabled users, such a concept makes financial sense too. It means that rooms are suitable for all guests and none need lie empty or risk a low customer satisfaction score. The concept made quite an impact when
it showcased at the Sleep Event at the end of last year, says Dutch. “Everyone was blown away by it; they weren’t even aware that it was a DDA-compliant bathroom.” The ultimate beauty of AX-ES, he says, is
its flexibility as demonstrated by the interpretations of the concept by design agencies Conran & Partners and Cunningham McLean. Far from being restrictive, the identical brief they worked to resulted in a huge capacity for creativity and a wide range of styles and finishes. And this is just the start. Dutch wants to
work with the industry to develop the concept even further. “People just don’t know what’s achievable. We’ve really hit on something.”
www.utopiaprojects.co.uk bflmagazine.co.uk 43
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