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home / programmes / research associates / 2003 / watergate
Barnaby Barford / Ceramics and Glass
watergate:
an accessible bath for older people
click for larger image
Getting in and out of the bath becomes harder the older and more frail we become. But, as society shifts away from institutional care of the elderly to care in the community, making the bath more accessible is essential to enable older people to remain independent in their own homes for longer.
The challenge of designing an accessible bath that can be used easily and safely by older and less able people has been around for a long time. But, according to David Grooms, Director of Operations at ESL Industries, "Nothing currently on the market does the job in a totally satisfactory way. All the solutions - involving hoists, chairs, doors and so on - have certain drawbacks for the user. This is a problem because many elderly people prefer a bath to a shower."
Mainstream appeal
ESL is a well-established manufacturer of special showers for older people in the local authority, housing association and care home markets. To develop a more accessible bath, the company turned to the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre. Barnaby Barford, a 2002 graduate of the RCA's Department of Ceramics and Glass, was selected to lead the project.
"Right from the outset, we decided it was important that the product should be inclusive in design, mainstream in appearance and able to fit the normal footprint of a bath," says Barford.
To evaluate current solutions and new concepts, Barford collaborated with carers and residents at a residential rest home in Surrey on a programme of user research. The project then explored baths that swivel, have flexible sides and contain inner skins, cavities and turntables. The concept eventually chosen for development - codenamed 'Watergate' - derived from exploration of ideas related to an airlock and a dam.
The Watergate bath is divided by a pair of inner doors into two sections - a 'seated' area and a 'wet' area. Each section has its own plughole for drainage. The bath is accessed in four simple stages.
First, the bather fills up the wet section of the bath prior to entry, checking the water is at the required temperature. Second, the bather enters the dry, seated section of the bath through level-access folding doors on the side of the bath, shuts them and sits down.
Third, the bather releases a simple mechanism which allows the pre-run water in the wet section of the bath to quickly flow into the seated area through a large-diameter tube. The bather is immediately in warm water at the right temperature. Fourth, when the two water levels are at the same height, the inner doors are lightly pushed to float open and fold away into the side of the bath, creating a normal full-length bath in which the bather can choose whether to remain seated or move to a reclining position within the bath.
After bathing, the process of getting out of the bath is even simpler. The bather returns to the seating position and pulls the inner doors closed to once again create a bath with two sections. They pull the plug to quickly drain the seated area and leave the bath through the level access side doors. Once they are out and towelled down, the remaining water on the wet side can be drained.
The new bath offers a number of advantages, says Barford. The bath can be pre-filled at the correct temperature, avoiding scolding or lukewarm water. Easy access doors avoid having to lift your leg over the side.
Not left shivering
The bather is not stranded shivering in the bath while water fills or drains (the system drains the bath in less than half the normal time). There are two positions for bathing - seated or reclining - and greater depth than a normal bath creates a sense of luxury for other family members who can use the bath in the conventional way.
The Research Associate worked closely with ESL's technical team to develop a full-size mock-up of the bath for public exhibit. "A tough design challenge has been addressed in a highly creative way," says David Grooms of ESL. "The bath itself has a lot of potential and we've also learnt a lot about its users."
research partner: ESL Industries