Living-Bathroom

Project idea

The goal of this project was to design a bathroom for the elderly population that can bring forth the vision of conceptually futuristic and innovative bathroom solutions to reduce the fear and risk of falling among older adults in the bathroom. This design solution is based upon EBD (Evidence-Based Design) research, which simultaneously anticipa¬tes users’ new desires and needs, as well as the transformation of dreams and aspirations into reality.

Project description

We do not really know how will truly be the future of the design for the bathroom space, but there is a num¬ber of undeniable drivers that will shape the society of the next future. The world population is aging, and 2 billion people in the world by 2050 will be more than 60 years. Notably, by 2050, one in four persons living in Europe and Northern America could be aged 65 or over. From the EBD research, it is evident that Most falls among older adults occur inside the home, and most of them occur in the bathroom. Falls in the bathroom are more than twice as likely to result in an injury. For adults age 65 and above, falls can be life-altering with the most severe consequences of falls leading to disability or death. It has been seen that when people fall in the bathroom, they grow a fear of falling and they use to take admission for long term care more frequently just because of the fear.

Thus I have come up with some nonconventional bathroom design strategies to reduce the fear of falling among older adults. Some of these are futuristic strategies about incorporating the technologies that are out there in the industry but not have been used widely for designing independent living bathrooms. The main focus of my design solution is to reduce the institutional look of the bathroom and to make it more welcoming, like a living room.

Technical information

Recurring falling in the bathroom for older adults indicates the need of using and/or installing safety equipments like grab bars both inside and outside the tub or shower and around the toilet, zero threshold shower with a place to sit, non-slippery mats and flooring and grab bars. Along with these measures, this Living-Bathroom provides a living room style toilet area with non-slippery floor tiles, and a cozy toilet seat with cushion in between other sofas to relax and enjoy leisure time, interactive screen for live wallpapers, sanitizing light for easy toilet cleaning, different heights for the washbasin for flexibility in use and table and shelves with lower hights to keep stuff for entertainment and relaxing. Another exciting part of this Living-Bathroom is the luxurious bathtub area with a specialized tub for the elderly or disabled person, which includes dry and wet bath areas. Sanitizing laser lights has been used for the dry bath area where a person can be disinfected without taking a shower with water, which creates the most of the risks for falling. The specialized and rotatable bathtub is easy to use without any electricity and a smooth transfer from a wheelchair to the tub. The bathing area is covered with LED panels to provide a customizable virtual background to furnish a lavish environment. The whole bathroom is designed with LED skylights for better lighting and to provide a nature like positive experience.
Automated sliding glass doors, fall detecting cameras, and emergency switches to call for help are the special features for the customers dealing with falling issues.

Co-authors

Aniket Nagdive