Bathrooms That Innovate in Materials, Layout, and Openings

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  • Mar 27, 2023

Bathrooms That Innovate in Materials, Layout, and Openings

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Within various - if not all - architectural programs, there is a function that is an essential and common requirement: the bathroom. A residence, office, commercial space, theater, museum, religious space, park, or school can only be designed with it. In some countries, public toilets are part of urban infrastructure like public transport or waste collection. A fundamental human right, although denied to a considerable portion of the global population, the toilet follows a historical evolution. Modernity brought with it the separation between public and private, and the room became increasingly reserved in Western society.

However, this environment can sometimes be reduced to a mere technical requirement, with minimal spaces favoring more valued social environments. Despite its restricted area, it presents a high technical complexity, contributing to more standardized and less explored layouts. Nevertheless, some projects take advantage of more restrictive situations to break down or invert the image of the standard bathroom. The result is the expansion of project possibilities and the evaluation of such a “protocolar” environment.

Bathrooms have been part of interior design for a long time, and in many cases, they receive finishes and materials with as much attention as the rest of the program. In addition, their use also depends on the occupant's cultural factor, the country where the project is, and whether it is a public or private space. For each of these possibilities, bathrooms can respond and reveal other forms of use, layouts, materials, or placements.

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