The design of a bathroom, as simple and/or as sophisticated as it is, will determine one’s living comfort in their home. Especially living with a family it will need more than just the basic necessities but also the practicality of a bathroom design.
Nowadays, architects and estate developers opt for a smaller bathroom as compare to the other rooms of a house/apartment. The general idea is just to have a shower, sink and a water closet in one small space and “voila!” we have our everyday bathroom. But living in a household of more than 3 members, we are faced with the problem of only one person using the bathroom at one time. Instead of debating on the quality of our sink or shower set, we are thinking of how to share our bathroom in that one small space.
We spend an average of 12,775 hours in the toilet in our lives and I don’t want anyone to shorten those hours.
I have no doubt we had faced this problem before: when we bang the toilet door telling whoever is showering inside to be faster because we wanted to pee. So let me introduce one way to a happy family: the “Three Blocks” bathroom concept.
The Three Blocks bathroom concept is the combination of a dry and wet bathroom. The Japanese known for living in small spaces has integrated this idea in their bathrooms for quite some time. This concept that they use has begun to appear in the layouts of bathrooms in countries like China and Korea in recent years.
What is the ideal home to have a Three Blocks bathroom?
A small house which has two bathrooms or less is the ideal home for this concept. You can even turn one of the ‘blocks’ into a storage space for bathroom or cleaning supplies.
Or a family with children. When the children are showering; getting ready for school, the adults can use the toilet at the same time in the same room. In short, a Three Blocks bathroom allows 3 people to fulfill their bathroom needs at the same time in the same room.
The design
From at least an area of 4.5m2, a Three Blocks bathroom can be applied. For a more luxurious or with an extra storage and laundry space the area must be at least 8m2.
1. Basic design: a glass shower room, a partition (such as sliding wall) set up between the sink and the toilet.
A sink on the left-hand side of the door, shower on the right-hand side, straight ahead is the toilet, and a bathroom cabinet in the right corner of the room. The toilet and the shower room are diagonally positioned to avoid collisions between people when using both facilities. The sink and storage area provide sufficient buffer space. Toiletries cans can be stored on the sink top. In the bathroom cabinet, can be use for storing other toiletries.
2. Rectangle design:
Upon entering, the sink will be the first thing you see, followed by toilet and shower at each side. This is a very common Three Blocks design. The rectangular space layout, is to part three functional areas in order to block moisture and odors from reaching the other parts of the bathroom.
3. Toilet + Shower design:
If the bathroom space is limited, the sink can be placed outside.
4. T-Shaped design:
So is it the future?
Installing a Three Blocks bathroom may be practical, but there are a few factors that we should consider eg: the placement of the toilet; relocation of the toilet may affect the upper and lower water outlets and pipes. If mishandled, water leakages or water pressure issues may arise in the future. Therefore, we must choose wisely a reasonable construction plan and find a reliable designer for construction.