How can we design more inclusive and sustainable barrier-free public restrooms?

A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Every day people access spaces for work, education, health reasons, shopping, leisure and culture:?

? Offices, administrative and public office buildings

? Healthcare facilities

? Sports, SPA and leisure facilities

? Cultural and educational facilities

? Shopping Malls and sales facilities

? Hotels and accommodation facilities

When it comes to planning, barrier-free public buildings, barrier-free sanitary rooms and barrier-free restrooms pose a particular challenge. The sanitary area must be designed so that all people can use it. Full wheelchair users, over walker users, blind or visually impaired people or those who have cognitive limitations. The legal requirement is that every publicly accessible building must have at least one sanitary room for wheelchair users - this can also be gender-neutral.

“Seen from an inclusive design perspective, the challenge is to design more inclusive restrooms by creating solutions that can simultaneously be unique yet accessible to all. Therefore, a product comes from the same (identical for all) mold, but can meet diverse needs. Accessibility is the right to access. When a product denies this right to someone, this means that it is not a good product.” says Francesca Masiero, president at pba.

pba developed the Design for All Bathroom Accessories Collection to design public spaces without compromise between practical use and beauty. The Design for All Bathroom Accessories Collection was a finalist for the NYCXDESIGN Awards 2023.

The Design for All Bathroom Accessories Collection is an expression of materiality and form at its purest. Crafted by hand of AISI 316L stainless steel - the hardest, most resistant, and most elastic of steels - maximum attention was given to creating minimal shapes with refined details, all to reduce visual clutter and to deliver an elevated and user-friendly experience.

From the absence of flanges and exposed hinges to a trademark reveal that imparts a discernible lightness and makes installation on uneven surfaces more forgiving, every item in the range brings an incomparable elegance and sense of modernity to the restroom environment. Conceived to blend into a space rather than to distract the eye, and a step away from the institutional look common to the market, design for all was developed to support inclusion beautifully.

The Design for All Bathroom Accessories Collection includes a wide range of combination paper towel dispensers/waste units, paper towel dispensers, soap dispensers, hand sanitizer covers, toilet tissue dispensers, recessed toilet tissue dispensers, toilet seat cover dispensers, shelves, sanitary napkin/tampon waste units, sanitary napkin/tampon dispensers and sharps containers. Sculptural forms, high-quality steel, and elegant finishes elevate the line beyond their use. These are design objects, not just bathroom accessories.

All products in this collection comply with ADA requirements (max protrusion 4") and are suitable for installation to comply with the ADA and similar accessibility requirements.

pba is committed to manufacture sustainable and recyclable bathware. The Design for All Bathroom Accessories are designed to be fully disassembled to guarantee recyclability and they contribute to credits under LEED, they are REACH compliant and carry a Red List Free Declare Label.

The Declare Label is like a nutrition label for the building industry. It is a product transparency disclosure that lists the ingredients in products to help customers ensure healthier indoor living environments. It discloses where a product comes from, the materials it is made from, and its end-of-life pathway. pba is proud to offer the first bathroom accessories collection "Red List Free" labeled, available on the International Living Future Institute platform:

REACH RANGES AND SPACE REQUIREMENTS

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sets the minimum requirements – both scoping and technical – for newly designed and constructed or altered State and Local Government facilities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. Here you will find an overview of the requirements regarding the planning of barrier-free public buildings.

For more information on compliant locations see pba project guide:

Based on the position of individual accessories and the direction of reach required for their use, Reach Ranges and Mounting Heights for restroom accessories may vary within a facility.

RESTROOM AMENITIES

It is recommended to locate all floor standing and surface-mounted units protruding more than 4 inches (100mm) in alcoves, or between other structural elements to avoid interference with access aisles or wheelchair turning areas. Fully recessed accessories are recommended throughout universally designed restrooms. Forward and side approaches, as well as left and right hand use should be taken into account when determining the mounting location of all restroom accessories.

GRAB BARS

The ADA emphasizes grab bars to maintain balance and prevent falls. Grab bars must be firmly secured to the anchors and to the wall in order for them to support the weight they are designed for.

The Design for All grab bars are available in both round and square profiles and they offer the uncommon combination of institutional quality and visual elegance. Escutcheons are the bane of many interior designs and would be eliminated faster than you could spell the word, but they are useful in concealing the mounting hardware that helps ensure commercial-grade load capacity. Here, we minimized their dimensionality (both in width and thickness) and added a reveal that lets them hover gracefully, yet securely, on the wall or toilet partition.

ACCESSORIES IN TOILET COMPARTMENT INSTALLATIONS

Every toilet compartment should include a number of accessories. These must be located on the side wall or partition nearest to the toilet in accessible compartments, and just in front of the leading edge of the toilet seat for an accessible reach.

SEATS

A folding or non-folding seat shall be provided in transfer type shower compartments, while in roll-in type showers a folding seat shall be provided. Seats could be rectangular or L-shaped.

With matches shapes and finishes, pba range of bathroom accessories allows designers to access everything they need from one source and for the selected products to look more unified and better integrated within spaces. And this means that all users, regardless of their physical abilities or limitations, will feel like they are part of the program, enjoying the same respect for their needs and autonomy as everyone else. Designed for all, the Bathroom Accessories Collection not only delivers a better bathroom experience but also a more inclusive one.

For more information about Design for All Bathroom Accessories Collection: