INTERIORS - BATHROOMS & SHOWERS 43
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE SENSORY SPACE
Awareness of mental and physical wellbeing has never been greater, yet many still struggle to find the time, freedom and sanctuary necessary to recover from the stresses of everyday life. Drawing on content from a new white paper, Sophie Weston of Geberit explores the role housebuilders have to play in sensory bathroom design.
F
aced with increasingly busy lives, nearly three quarters of us struggle to find time to relax according to
recent research, and almost three quarters of people in the UK have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope in the last 12 months. It’s a damning snapshot of modern lives consumed by technology and an ‘always on’ mentality. As a result, good design is increasingly less about how spaces look and more about how they make us feel – seeking to improve both mental and physical wellbeing through a multi-sensory approach. Where better to help restore the natural balance of our sensory system than in the bathroom, so often a place of sanctuary and rest.
REIMAGINING BATHROOM SPACES The domestic bathroom space offers a retreat from the pressures of modern life. In fact, Geberit’s research shows that in the quest for some respite, the most popular place of refuge was the bathroom. That is why the modern bathroom or washroom should not be designed as a purely functional zone, but as a relaxing space to unwind, combining clever product innovations and intelligent design with nature-inspired materials and textures which help to restore the natural balance of our senses. Key to this is biophilic design, an
increasingly popular approach which covers everything from surfaces and design choices, to air quality, ventilation,
FINDING THE FORMULA FOR A WELL-CONSIDERED BATHROOM SPACE COULD BE THE KEY TO UNLOCKING BETTER LIVES
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acoustics and lighting, creating valuable opportunities to deliver sensory spaces. With this in mind, finding the formula
for a well-considered bathroom space could be the key to unlocking better lives.
BATHROOM SOLUTIONS To do this, designers must first under- stand the four key senses – auditory (sound), visual (sight), kinaesthetic (touch) and olfactory (smell) – and the impact they have on our wellbeing, before applying this understanding to specify the bathroom technologies and innovations that can help reduce the impact of each. Take auditory, for example. Architects have a role to play in minimising noise in any space and even behind the wall, by taking advantage of product develop- ments such as acoustically optimised pipework with noise reducing properties and decoupled pre-walls. These innova-
tive sound-proofing solutions help to mitigate the age-old issue of noise from flushing toilets, contributing to a better sensory experience for those in the room and in adjoining rooms too. Preventing overstimulation of the visual
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