Introduction
In recent years, the significance of the bathroom in architecture has grown considerably. Once an isolated, dark, interior space, private bathrooms now usually have an open design. Natural lighting is seen as essential, daylight is directed and coloured lighting brings spaces to life, creating a range of various atmospheres. Manufacturers of bathroom furniture, taps and fittings and ceramics are constantly expanding their ranges, while new materials and processing techniques enable them to offer elements such as unusually sized tiles and basins made of composite materials that can take on any form. Residents’ wishes are often inspired by the lavish spas of hotels and public baths, spas and swimming pools, so their demands on private bathrooms are also changing in terms of zoning, with floor plans becoming more multifunctional to provide the flexibility needed to respond to changing needs and desires. At the same time, users expect higher quality and better design. In future, there will be a greater focus on issues such as planning for older users, ecology and ongoing technical and digital developments. In public sanitary facilities, such as those in office buildings, bars and restaurants, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, sports complexes, airports and other public facilities, the most important issues are functionality, low maintenance and durability. Yet their designs are also now frequently oriented towards their surroundings because they increasingly showcase a building’s qualities. They assimilate the material and chromatic language of their architecture and interior design and testify to their planners’ inventiveness in implementing concepts.
The historic development of baths and bathing Early baths complexes were in use in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia as well as in Ancient Greece, where public baths can be dated back to the 5th century B.C. A culture of bathing was also very important in this early period. People went to baths to clean their bodies as well as to relax and communicate. Small public baths were built during the early Roman Empire, which were followed later by luxuriously equipped thermae. These were places for communication and essential sites of public life. Water, at that time a precious resource, was transported to them across huge public structures – the aqueducts – thereby securing a plentiful water supply and greatly improving the population’s hygiene. Bathing culture in Western Europe diminished with the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.D., but it survived in the Byzantine Empire. Crusaders returning from the East in the Middle Ages brought ideas and building plans for baths with them to Western Europe, where public bathhouses again became the place in which most people came into contact with running water. Here too, the baths once again became centres of communication and sociability. Religious prudery, the spread of syphilis and not least the great plague epidemics and associated risk of infection meant that by the end of the 16th century most bathhouses had been closed. There was also a prevailing belief that water was dangerous to the health. Bodily contact with water tended to be limited to perfumes, especially among the feudal upper classes. Instead of washing, they rubbed their bodies dry and powdered them. It was only during the Enlightenment in the mid-18th century that ideas changed and public and private baths began to
be built again. In the 19th century, new knowledge in the area of hygiene led to a renaissance in public baths. The first public baths opened in 1842 in Liverpool, and the first German public baths, with 65 bathtubs and 56 washstands, opened in Hamburg in 1855. In private households, the washstand originally stood in the living room. For a growing bourgeoisie, however, a private bathroom was a prestigious architectural feature, so houses came to have a new functional space. Until the turn of the 20th century, many apartment houses in cities had at least one shared bathroom in the corridor. But individualisation had become an inexorable force. It soon became standard to fit every home with its own bathroom, or if there was room, with a guest toilet or guest bathroom as well. Now many clients want separate bathrooms for every person in the house. “Master bathrooms”, separate bathrooms for parents and children, luxurious spa bathrooms – they all share one feature: our private bathroom is now an individual place for expression, retreat and relaxation. Similarly, public bathing complexes are increasingly becoming places to rest, relax and recharge, where we can recover from the hectic pace of daily life and find a source of renewed energy. New types of bathrooms Over the course of their development, from Roman thermae and medieval bathhouses to today’s individual bathrooms, humanity’s washrooms have always reflected human society. Factors such as diverse regional comfort stan dards and habits, different climatic conditions and varying levels of prosperity have played a role in their design, as have differences in the statutory requirements governing the construction of buildings. Yet some overarching trends 7