Considered Bathroom Design For An Ageing Population

As we often hear, Australia has an ageing population. As the proportion of older people in the community grows, it is time to discover that the ageing process can be a seamless, uplifting and pleasurable experience – with a little bit of planning and consideration in design.

As a society, we need to settle on policies and strategies that not only allow older Australians to meet their own aspirations in terms of health, quality of life and independence, but also minimise the cost of this transformation to the broader population.

Titled ‘Considered Bathroom Design for an Ageing Population’, this session of CPD Live focuses on the role that design – or more specifically bathroom design – can play in fulfilling these important societal goals.

Beginning by outlining current demographic trends, the ageing process and the attractions of ‘Ageing in Place’ as a genuine alternative to residential aged care, our speakers will go on to identify the various design strategies (and product choices) that architects and designers can employ when designing for an ageing population.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this presentation, you should be able to:

•   Identify general considerations associated with bathroom design for aged care and ageing in place contexts
•   Explain aspects of ageing that influence how you design a bathroom for older people
•   Outline key principles and considerations of aged care residential design
•   Outline design guidelines that can improve older people’s experience of using bathrooms
•   Outline design guidelines that can improve older people’s experience of using bathrooms

(PROJECT INITIATION AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGN, PC 18, PROJECT INITIATION AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PC 26, PROJECT INITIATION AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PC 28, PROJECT INITIATION AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PC 34)

Speakers 

Adeline Chua – Head of Customer Insights & Programs, Caroma

Adeline Chua, Phd. is the Head of Customer Insights & Programs at Caroma, where she oversees research requirements that ensure Caroma continues to deliver ‘Made for Life’ water solutions that are sustainable, water efficient and user-relevant. With a marketing research background of more than 20 years across Australia, New Zealand, UK, China and Malaysia – Adeline helps businesses deliver consumer-driven insights aimed at winning business and commercial outcomes. She is a huge advocate of the Why’s and So What’s in product development and design, particularly within the bathrooms and kitchens category.

Peter Sweatman – Senior Manager Product Visualisation, GWA

Peter Sweatman, PhD. is the Senior Manager Product Visualisation at GWA. With a background in industrial design and having worked in bathroom product development and innovation for over 20 years, Peter is Caroma’s Accessibility Design Expert in helping to reimagine the potential of bathroom spaces with a proactive, inclusive approach that celebrates the human experience in all its stages – be it recovering from an injury, getting pregnant or ensuring that elderly visitors can use their host’s bathroom safely and with confidence. Peter’s PhD thesis was developed from the Liveable Bathrooms for Older People research collaboration between UNSW Built Environment and GWA Bathrooms & Kitchens.