Attention to design detail - Bathroom & Kitchen Update – for new and existing bathroom & kitchen products

Attention to design detail

By EROL DONMEZ, Managing Director, VitrA U

Published: 01 August, 2007

Hygiene, mobility and versatility are just some of the considerations that spring to mind when designing DDA-compliant products, but all too often it is the attention to design which is forgotten, with many sanitaryware options simply missing out on style and compromising on what is actually an equally significant consideration.

With approximately nine million disabled people in the UK, DDA-compliant products are not something that the bathroom industry can ignore and it is those manufacturers with a continued commitment to innovation and design that will lead the market way.

Specifically it is also about looking at complete range solutions which can integrate with existing products to create a single bathroom language, rather than introducing individual products or accessories with no synergy or which don’t suit their specific context.

At VitrA we’ve become particularly conscious of the special needs market within our contracts division; as hotels, stadiums and hospitals are now required to make reasonable adjustments to overcome the physical barrier of access.

The need for products that maintain a certain style and are in-keeping with surroundings have become increasingly important within this market and it is from our work with Heathrow’s Terminal Five that we designed, what is believed to be, the world’s first fully DDA compliant backto- wall WC pan, which has overcome the current practice of putting a box behind the pan.

Through our learnings from Terminal Five, DDA-compliant products are now being integrated into all our product ranges.

For further information contact 01235 750990 or visit www.vitra.co.uk