Luxury Washroom Design Challenge Entry

Few months back my boss forwarded an email to me which was a usual competition email with instructions to guide the interns to execute it. I never had an idea that I'll be more than delighted to see that it was rather an individual competition and only an architect with the license to practice can participate in it. I never thought that I would actually participate and submit it and it won't be just another 'to do' on my list until the last day of submission. This was a breath of fresh air, where I had no boundaries- no client to tell what exactly to do, no developer to impose all the monetary limitations and no government by-laws to follow. This was not something where I was supposed to give shape to the ideas of my boss, but rather put all the wisdom and knowledge gained under him and this firm and design something entirely on my own. It was also different from the college competitions, where I can't just paint unicorns in the sky, but look for a tool to create unicorn impressions in the real sky and think of a way to keep it that way, or in simpler words, it has to be executable!

While doing it I kept the thought of winning aside (I wasn't expecting it at all) and instead gave my 100 percent. Kept it simple,clean and classy.

Below is my entry to the Cera Washrooms and Beyond Design challenge for luxury washrooms that made me win second prize in the National round held at Taj Santacruz, Mumbai.

Introducing the Wellness Room

It’s not a Washroom, it’s an Experience.

It was only five years back that the washroom was treated as one of the most insignificant rooms- an area with a bath, shower, washbasin and a water closet. But today washrooms have evolved to be one of the most crucial habitat area. From being the last room to be designed and worked upon to becoming one of the first spaces that people look into converting into a complete wellness zone. As people are becoming busier in their day to day life, urban consumers are going beyond spas and gyms to destress and rejuvenate. Washrooms are becoming extensions of people's living spaces with shower enclosures, whirlpools, steam and other wellness installations.

A washroom or a “wellness room”, as it should be rightly called, is also the place where we spend the most creative minutes of our day. It is a surprising fact where most professionals find their source of daily inspiration. Yes. It is this wellness room. 

Why? Because a relaxed state of mind is absolutely important to be creative. It is scientifically proven, if you are in a relaxed state of mind,easy to distract and full of dopamine, your brain is most likely to give you your best, most creative ideas, which is easily achievable in a shower.

A room that gives you back so much does a 9x5 area suffice? The time spent in the washroom is probably the only time when we are just alone with ourselves and our thoughts. It cannot be just a space with a shower, a wash basin and a toilet, it has to be more, it has to be a space of incredible luxury! It has to be a personalised spa, a thinking room, an idea room and lot more. The wellness room is a space where you interact with yourself and you alone and sometimes share it with your partner, forced to be away from your mobiles and social media. In today’s world it is the only space left dedicated to privacy. So why make it so small and ordinary?

The design presented here is for a hypothetical client who is a very successful author or a creative head in a magazine. She needs a wellness room that has openness, luxury and personal space that let her ideas surface. The design requirement is for her 18^th floor, pent house apartment in the city as well as for her holiday home in the hills where she loves to spend the weekends. The two designs are relatable and one is the extension of the other.

The idea is to create a minimalistic yet luxurious design with a feeling of openness-using open to sky areas and light-coloured walls with a hint of colour here and there. Spaces are created for the client to relax and heal the mind and body, spend time reading, thinking and relaxing, other than enjoying long hours in bubble baths with scented candles around.

LEGEND-corresponds to the numbers in the jpeg files.

1. The City Wellness room

1. Vanity
2. Wash Basins
3. Water Closet
4. Jacuzzi/Bath tub
5. Wall Painting
6. Bamboo trees
7. Water body
8. Bridge
9. Book shelf- Covered
10. Lounger
11. Weeping Feature Wall Fountain
12. Shower area
13. Full length back-lit mirror
14. Pergola covered with lexan sheet

2. The Hillside Wellness room
1. Full height window with part jaali
2. Bench with cushions
3. Unenclosed Shower area
4. Wash basins
5. Cantilevered Steps with anti-skid rubber mats leading to the mezzanine floor
6. Balcony decks
7. Swimming pool 30’x10’
8. Water closet
9. Bath tub/Jacuzzi
10. Fixed glass window on sloped roof
11. Lounger/pedicure chair
12. Glass door with top and side support