Form + Function: Touchless Restrooms
Date Posted: May 11, 2021
Posted In: COVID-19 Updates, Ideas,
From Restaurant Development+Design: The adoption of touchless bathroom fixtures was well underway before COVID-19 upended the restaurant industry. But the coronavirus added fuel to this trend as more building owners installed hands-free restroom fixtures to reduce the spread of disease.
With current technology, it’s possible for a guest to enter a bathroom, use the toilet, wash and dry their hands, and exit without touching any surface that could transmit a pathogen. Building owners have used the COVID-19 shutdowns as an opportunity to retrofit fixtures to create this hands-free environment in their restrooms.
In the restaurant industry, the touchless trend before the pandemic was particularly strong in both the high-end and food hall segments, according to Dana Foley, design director, senior associate, for the architecture firm Gensler. After the widespread business shutdowns in March 2020, the adoption pace picked up in other segments.
“A lot of clients were asking for price quotes for touchless fixtures before COVID,” says Kevin O’Meara, project engineer, Integrated Facility Services, a national mechanical contractor and service provider. After the pandemic took hold, many more have been inclined to actually adopt hands-free fixtures in both new construction and renovation, he says.
Several restroom components are available in touchless styles:
- Faucets
- Soap dispensers
- Hand dryers
- Paper towel dispensers
- Toilet flushers
- Doors
Except for doors, these features have been installed in many public restroom settings for well over a decade. Before the past few years, however, manufacturers tended to position touchless products individually instead of grouping them in lines with matching aesthetics. So, it was more likely for designers to adopt these fixtures as one-offs, and not specify them as a cohesive whole.
Now, manufacturers are offering touch-free components in families with complementary aesthetics, Foley says. When touchless fixtures debuted on the market, they were available in limited styles — primarily coming in shiny nickel and chrome finishes. In recent years, manufacturers expanded the palette significantly and also improved the underlying technology.
“They have more beautiful aesthetics and have become more durable,” Foley says. Faucet finishes, for example, now include brass, bronze, and black — brushed or matte — and are available in numerous shapes and sizes.