How does a manufacturer plan for the future when half its future products have yet to even be conceived? Pick the brains of young designers, naturally.
In this respect the futuristic bathroom designer Roca, always the innovator (last year it launched its London gallery in a building by Zaha Hadid), has the edge on its rivals. This week it heads into its fifth year running the design contest Jumpthegap, aimed at under-35s entering a design career.
The contest’s mandate is simple: to visualise a new concept, product or space for the bathroom of tomorrow. The task is not: 10 years from now our current needs and technologies will be history, so anticipating the replacement is an exercise in clairvoyance.
Last year’s winner, Michal Warykiewicz of Poland, took the prize for the ‘In & Out Shower’, a rotating bathroom and garden shower in a single glass pod. Today’s hopefuls are asked to register by 13.00 on 31 January 2013; submissions are due 5 April 2013.
Roca has packed its jury with luminaries from the world of design and architecture, including Kazuyo Sejima of Tokyo architecture practice SANAA, Finnish designer Harri Koskinen and Wallpaper’s own interiors director, Benjamin Kempton. Kempton also discussed innovations and trends with Roca design manager Josep Congost at the jumpthegap contest presentation on 13 September.
View the image gallery above to see last year’s winner and finalists.
'In & Out Shower', by Michal Warykiewicz, Poland
Warykiewicz's design is an interesting solution that combines a bathroom and garden shower by being able to rotate 180 degrees to be either indoors or outdoors
'Bana Bender', by Hong Ruei Hong and Lin Pin I, Taiwan
Based on the the observation that some people like to exercise before taking a shower, the 'Bana Bender' is part of a shower set designed to allow users to exercise and shower at the same time
'Bath 2.0', by Fabrizio Tozzoli and Eliana Salazar, Ecuador
Due to estimates saying there will be a water scarcity and overcrowding in cities in coming years, this device was designed to save water and space without depriving the world of everyday comforts such as the use of the bathroom
'Bath the transformer', by Andrey Lebedev, Russia
'This bath can be transformed easily', says Lebedev. 'It can be a bath for one person or for two and can be fastened on the wall'
'Bathboard', by Sylwia Ulicka Rivera, Spain
Bathboard is a foldable bathtub fashioned from foam rubber and a spongelike material which is light, soft and flexible. It is designed to save space and water
'Live bath-anemone', by Irina Samoylova, Russia
Created to resemble a live sea anemone, Samoylova's design moves to create varying water pressure while massaging the body
'Mist' by Sylwester Szymanski and Katarzyna Hryniewiecka, Poland
This creation combines a bathroom fitting with a wash-bowl. In order to minimise wastage, water is collected and evaporated
'Recycle Water', by Helder Rodrigues, Portugal
Taking into account the amount of water used every day, this concept aims to save bathwater using a hydraulic system to store water in a reservoir to reuse when flushing the toilet
'Roca Soap', by Javier Jimenez and Eli Cayuela, Spain
This design features a basin fashioned from soap which can be recycled to form new basins
'Watersite', by Agata Trybus, Poland
This creation changes the traditional concept of taking a shower in a cubicle. Each element is flexible and the base consists of several portable items that fit into one another, giving you the freedom to create your own unique 'watersite'
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