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home / programmes / research associates / 2002 / older consumer / safe and sensual
Mary Wagstaff / Design Products
safe and sensual: improving the shower for older people
A design study aimed at making the bathroom a safer and more relaxing place for everyone by enhancing the experience of showering.
One in every two European adults will be over 50 by the year 2020. For many older people, the bathroom environment induces anxiety. The shower in particular is seen as difficult to use and an accident waiting to happen. As a consequence, those with the physical impairments of age tend to deny themselves the therapeutic benefits of regular showering. This project, developed in collaboration with German shower manufacturer Hansgrohe, set out to explore the challenges faced by older and less able people in the bathroom and develop new design concepts to address their needs.
The study began with a market analysis of existing bathroom products and a questionnaire asking 100 people, young and old, to describe their bathing habits and preferences. From the user feedback, a lead user group was formed to guide design development in response to identified problems related to slipping, gripping, balancing and reaching for things while bathing. Two central design concepts emerged from the study. The first incorporates a warm air drier, shower head soap dispenser and recliner within a single de-luxe shower unit. The second replaces traditional bathroom fittings with a series of tiles, including magnetic tiles and tap-tiles activated by hand pressure. These proposals are described in a special publication for Hansgrohe, entitled 'WaterFall', and the project will now go into a second year for further design development.
research partner: Hansgrohe