Kitchens, Bedrooms, Bathrooms
Inclusive bathroom designs by Ponte Giulio Accessible bathroom designer Nick Gontar of Ponte Giulio explains why he believes inclusive design should underpin the development and creation of all bathroom safety solutions. It’s not unusual for manufacturers of bathroom products to cater towards the wants and needs of specific users, but this thought process can be very limiting when designing inclusive products that are suitable for anyone’s needs. Inclusive design is considered by the British Standards Institute (2005) to be “the design of mainstream products and/ or services that are accessible to, and usable by, as many people as reasonably possible…without the need for special adaptation or specialised design.” When it comes to inclusive design, there are three key points to consider - user diversity, capabilities and satisfaction. User diversity is a crucial aspect to understand and get right for inclusive design, as different user groups will undoubtedly have different individual experiences and needs. Carrying out market research amongst a diverse range of people is imperative to ensuring that as many criteria can be fulfilled as possible. Designers should take the wide spectrum of user capabilities into account - for instance, one may assume that a product user is either fully able or disabled;, however, it isn’t always as straightforward as that. Accessible bathroom designers should always aim to create products that offer any user the independence and comfort they need. The needs and desires of users should also be understood in order to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Providing customers with accessible and safe solutions for their bathrooms also means considering how they will navigate around the room - for example, grab rails are recommended for optimum support. Crucially, to succeed in the marketplace today, it is important to also create designs that are aesthetically pleasing. Bathrooms ought to be accessible, inclusive and somewhere customers can enjoy being.
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In addition, most Ponte Giulio bathroom products also have Biocote antimicrobial technology applied to ensure optimum hygiene around the clock. With this technology, within 15 minutes, 80 percent of surface bacteria is reduced. Ponte Giulio believes inclusive bathroom design should be a crucial part of the development process when designing accessible bathrooms to ensure a functional, expertly crafted space and, most importantly, user satisfaction.
Ponte Giulio has launched a new Wellbeing Solutions catalogue to showcase its inclusive design safety solutions, available for nursing homes, hotels, and public and commercial buildings. This new catalogue showcases Ponte Giulio’s functional user friendly designs, including an insight into the Italian brand’s product portfolio, including sanitary ware, seats and stools, shower room accessories and three different types of grab rails - the Family, Prestigio and Prestigio+. The company has also designed Doc-M
packages suitable for smaller businesses and offices, which are introduced in the catalogue to assist with current compliance legislation requirements. Ponte Giulio’s helpful catalogue aims to assist industry buyers with choosing the most suitable safety solution by highlighting the key design and safety features of the products, as well as showcasing the matching accessories available to enhance bathroom aesthetics. The Wellbeing Solutions catalogue can be downloaded from www.pontegiulio.co.uk