Interview: The Trend towards life-stage-friendly Bathroom Design

On the occasion of the International Trade Fair of the entire HVAC industry, the ISH 2015, taking place in Frankfurt, the chairman of the German Sanitary Industry Association [Vereinigung Deutsche Sanitärwirtschaft(VDS)], Hartmut Dalheimer explained what visions are standing behind the pictures and titles of the new campaign of "Pop up my Bathroom."

With the “Pop up” initiative it launched in collaboration with Messe Frankfurt, the German Sanitary Industry Association (VDS) is taking an unconventional path. What do you hope to achieve with the campaign?

Dalheimer: Our classic bathroom concept has already ceased to reflect the reality of people’s lives. We are changing jobs, professions, homes, social networks and even family structures more often than ever before. And yet it seems as if we’re more willing to move house than adapt the bathroom to our requirements, even if only with small-scale measures. If we’re going to face up to the changes taking place in our society, we need to free our minds. Firstly, there’s the issue of more housing for people on their own: although we obviously need more barrier-free housing, we also need space for bigger shared units that can accommodate patchwork families, multigenerational models and shared homes for seniors. It’s not just the workplace that’s changing: the organisation models for our private lives are changing too. In view of all this, is our traditional picture of the bathroom actually still contemporary? And how is modern bathroom design adapting to future life models and changing expectations? Those are the questions we’ll be addressing with Pop up my Bathroom this time round. We want to use the “Freibad” idea to start a debate along these lines at the ISH: the German word usually means an outdoor pool but has been coined here to symbolise freedom in what was once the smallest room in the house.

So do you get the impression that the industry still isn’t paying enough attention to the concept of a barrier-free bathroom?

Dalheimer: As an entrepreneur and a representative of the German Sanitary Industry, I obviously see this field as a growth market where there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Besides the “classic” barrier-free concept as it’s usually discussed, we simply need more variability. The trend towards life-stage-friendly bathroom design is a social development that the entire industry has to face up to – as do all the different distribution channels involved. It’s not just an individual product that can provide support for somebody in the bathroom during a certain phase of his life. The bathroom as a whole should change along with the needs of its users – and not just in terms of the “barrier-free” aspect. More attention is being focused on the topic of “The Bathroom and Health” too, and the bathroom is already playing an important role in terms of prevention.

So what part do the trades have to play in this development?

Dalheimer: I think plumbers have a crucial role to play. And the kind of innovative products we’ll no doubt be seeing in large numbers from the exhibitors at this year’s ISH call for sensible planning as well. That means the planning professional has to establish a rapport with the customer and understand his needs, concerns and preferences. That’s quite difficult when you’re dealing with such an intimate subject – partly also because, when a customer is in the final life stage, everybody involved realises that this is probably the last bathroom he’ll ever have.

So perhaps it would be better not to put too much emphasis on what that implies?

Dalheimer: That’s right, but it’s important to talk about it all the same. When it comes to designing a home, the bathroom is without doubt the key to longer-lasting independence and a carefree life in one’s own four walls. But the bathroom can also be a wellness oasis or a fountain of health as well – for anyone. And the bathroom is becoming a lot cosier too: it’s a great place for reading, relaxing or grooming, and it’s a meeting place for the entire family as well. The bathroom as we know it and the bathroom of the future is changing rapidly and acquiring a social status all its own. That’s new: it definitely hasn’t always been that way in our business. Which is why it’s all the more important to me that as many ISH visitors as possible take the time to find out about these current trends. And incidentally: that’s also the only way we can ensure that architects pay more attention to bathrooms and make them more spacious when designing new builds.