Sanctuary Space
Our 2018 respondents told us that the bathroom (43%) was the most popular place of escape from the pressures of modern life, followed by the bedroom (38%) and the living room (25%). The role of the bathroom is, clearly, of enormous significance in our lives and can provide many of us with some much-needed respite. Yet, bathrooms can often be harsh and sterile places with poor acoustics and cold surfaces. Considering how we can improve both mental and physical wellbeing through a multi-sensory approach can help transform the humble bathroom into a modern day sanctuary.
Key to this approach is biophilic design, which encompasses everything from surfaces and design choices, to air quality, ventilation, acoustics and lighting. With this in mind, finding the formula for a well-considered bathroom space at home, at work or in hospitality could be the key to unlocking better lives.
To do this, we must understand the four key senses of auditory (sound), visual (sight), kinesthetic (touch) and olfactory (smell) and the impact they have on our wellbeing, before then applying this understanding to specify the bathroom technologies and innovations that can help reduce the impact of each.