Figure 1 – Example of Commercial Bathroom Design

Integration of Technology in the Bathroom

By Lauren Preston

The bathroom has transitioned from a purely functional space to a technologically advanced and stylized element of homes. It’s a modern idea that the bathroom is a product of design and streamlined luxury and is found in every American household. The 19th and 20th century largely shifted the understanding of the functionality of bathrooms and the incorporation of architectural design in bathrooms. In this paper I will discuss the influence and incorporation of technology into a specific Sydney Opera House project as well as the implementation of technology in the United States throughout the 20th century. The layout, plumbing system, and design/style of the modern bathroom all play a part in the technological advancements that have occurred over the last few centuries.

The Sydney Opera House

The toilet design in the Sydney Opera House focused largely on using a new technological development which unfortunately resulted in many problems in the short term. In the long run, it helped a company learn and re-work their technology to mass produce amenities to many in the future. At the time of this project, architects didn’t see a “problem in the combination of design and manufacturing processes of different scale, time length, and import” (Martel and Tombesi, 44). Architects were integrating both industrial design and technology into a project without thinking about the functionality of different architectural components. Technology was new and exciting, and people wanted to use it in every design or product they could to prove its effectiveness. Fowler, a major manufacturer in Australia, was chosen to design and produce the toilets in the bathrooms of the Opera House. They were known as a “producer of domestic pottery and later pipes used in drainage [and] introduced vitreous china technology to Australia” (Martel and Tombesi, 45). The bathrooms in the Opera House were located under the seating of the auditoriums or the front podium. These bathrooms were hidden, purposefully isolated from the rest of the building, and weren’t embraced pieces of design. This isolating theme is very different from how Americans embraced and centered their homes around their bathrooms which I will discuss more in depth later.

Fowler decided to go for a Scandinavian look which was sleek with a main body, rim, and cover. They used their newest technology, using open flame kilns because of the fast firing time than the older muffled style kilns. This forced them to make the toilets out of many separate components and then join them together later in the process. This process was extremely unreliable because of the large number of pieces. The new kilns ended up not being compatible with the clay Fowler typically used, which added to the list of complications. Many toilets cracked and ended up needing to be replaced. The Opera House chose a completely different and more readily available model to replace them. Fowler’s idea and design was “interrupted by technological divergences” (Martel and Tombesi, 46). Fowler had to learn from their mistakes with technology and stopped producing project-based products and instead focused on product-based items. This project was done in the mid 1970’s but is now going under further renovation to, “reintegrate the toilets into the episteme of the Opera House” (Martel and Tombesi, 47). Their focus is on removing elements that, “isolated the functional space of the toilets from the architectural space of the larger concrete canopy” (Martel and Tombesi, 47). This idea of integrating the bathroom into the main space of a building is a theme we see in western society, specifically in the United States.

Figure 2 – Women’s bathroom in the Sydney Opera House located under the auditorium

Figure 3 – “Florida wall-hung close-coupled vitreous china toilet suite from the Fowler Cataloque (1998). The unit was used as replacement for the Sydney Opera House model once the original reverse stock had been exhausted” (Martel and Tombesi, 48).

Figure 4 – “Deluxe bathroom as depicted in the J.L. Mott Iron Works Catalogue of 1888” (Miller and Lupton, 26).

The Modern Bathroom

The Modern Bathroom by Abbott Miller and Ellen Lupton discussed the changes that exist within the bathroom in America during the 20^th century. At this time, it was normalized to see a bathroom in every American home. The bathroom was a pleasant environment and, “its straightforwardly technological forms and the novelty of its materials within the domestic landscape” (Miller and Lupton, 25) made it truly modern. Hygiene was becoming increasingly important in American culture and, “determined the evolution of the ‘bathroom’ aesthetic” (Miller and Lupton, 26). Certain materials became popular because of their resistance to germs. Ornament also was mostly eradicated to make room for smoother surfaces to appear neat and clean. Another major reason behind the elimination of ornament was that people questioned if ornament could be produced by machine in the increasingly industrialized society. People argued that, “ornament is wasted labor power and hence wasted health” (Miller and Lupton, 26). Technology was evolving and people were more interested in using machines to mass-produce products instead of handmade products. Design and technology met and led to the modernized bathroom.

Plumbing

Plumbing in the household led to an increase in portable appliances like bathtubs and sinks. Water supplied appliances were to be enclosed and stylized to hide the unattractive pipes and plumbing beneath. The toilet tank also moved from being, “made of wood with copper or lead-lining” (Miller and Lupton, 28) to vitreous china and it moved from being elevated on the wall to right behind the bowl which created a typology and material commonly still used today. Washstands also evolved from a simple bowl of furniture to wash your hands, to a bowl sunken into a larger piece of cabinetry. Manufacturers started to produce the slab and bowl as one unit to prevent separation that collected dirt and dust. Bathtubs also focused more on having a material that felt comforting to the skin. Many materials were used and tested, but cast-iron tubs were the most popular in the late 19th century. All of these appliances made the move from furniture to fixture, “passing through ornamental to exposed states” (Miller and Lupton, 30).

Figure 5 – Example of cabinetry and sunken sink as opposed to washstand

Figure 6 – Example of toilet tank placement before it moved to right behind the bowl

Feminization

The shower was a new invention in the 20th century and initially was found in wealthier homes. It was linked to male use while the bath was feminized. In movies and pop culture the image of a women bathing advertised the diversity in which a bathroom could be used, unlike it ever had in history. In the 1980’s a cultural movie called the “Pink Palace” featured a luxurious bathroom with a heart shaped swimming pool. There were gold details throughout the room, with carpet on the floors, walls and ceiling, all while the main character was enjoying a relaxing bubble bath. These features come from a history of gender segregation in the home and the bathroom. Some elements prioritized towards attracting either men or women. The shower is a perfect example; it, “was seen as incompatible with female grooming rituals” (Miller and Lupton, 31). The shower eventually began to displace the tub and is a prominent feature in many modern bathrooms.

As decoration became more and more popular in the 20th century, the female influence was more prominent. According to Barbara Penner, up until this point, the bathroom was traditionally white. Kohler decided to create a campaign that offered a variety of colors for installation. Many companies quickly followed suite creating this norm to have extremely bright and colorful fixtures in a typical bathroom. Another reason behind this shift in color is that, “the modern bathroom had reached ‘almost perfect sanitation’” (Miller and Lupton, 32). Bathrooms cleanliness reflected the hygiene standards of the wife, and the added decoration was based on her style and taste. White was considered dull at this point and more creativity and decoration was found in American homes and bathrooms.

Figure 7 – “Advertisement for Pocono Gardens Lodge’s Royal Suite in Bride’s Magazine (1965)” (Penner, 177). Example of feminized luxury bathtubs.

Figure 8 – Ornament and feminine influence example from the 1950’s

Conclusion

In American society the changes that existed in the bathroom stem from cultural norms. American homes have turned the functional bathroom into a place of luxury and integrated it into the rest of the home. As the Sydney Opera House begins their re-design, their goal is to relate the bathroom to the rest of the building proving that modern bathrooms have a place of importance in architecture. Technology has helped develop architecture but in the case of the Opera House ended up causing further damage. American society slowly implemented technological advancements and helped develop the bathroom into a place we can’t live without. We’ll see how technology continues to influence the design of bathrooms in the future.

Bibliography

Miller, J. Abbott, and Ellen Lupton. “THE MODERN BATHROOM Ornament and Grime.” In The Bathroom, the Kitchen, and the Aesthetics of Waste: A Process of Elimination, 1992.

Tombesi, Paolo, and Andrew Martel. “Vessels of Expression and Flows of Innovation: On the Connection between Toilets and Architecture.” Journal of Architectural Education (1984-) 59, no. 2 (2005): 43–52.

Penner, Barbara. 2013. Bathroom. Objekt. London: Reaktion Books.

Image Sources

Figure 1:

Commercial Bathroom Design & Trends | Modern Public Restroom Ideas (scrantonproducts.com)

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Figure 4, 5 + 6: