The latest and greatest toilet innovations coming to a bowl near you

The humble toilet hasn’t seen much change over the years. The basic shape and design has generally remained the same since the invention of the flush and S-bend. Since then, toilets have moved on more by location rather than innovation: becoming part of the calming, relaxed environment of the bathroom.

Attempts to further revolutionise toilets with smart (or just smarter) technology haven’t really taken off – so far at least. Scared of what might accidentally be done to themselves whilst in such a precarious position, perhaps, consumers often prefer the simplicity of tradition, rather than the complexity of the three sea shells. With sustainable water use and sanitation high on the modern agenda, however, toilet design refuses to be caught short.

Sanitaryware used to be available in any colour you liked, as long as it was white. After briefly taking a step towards colour with full bathroom suites in matching pale blues, pinks and browns, or the infamous avocado green, we returned to the safety of white, trapping the then-dated colourful ceramics in time. Finally, over 40 years later, colours are back in the bathroom. The Color Elements range from GSI Ceramica includes WCs, bidets, washbasins and urinals in a range of simple formats and chic, natural tones, making it easy for specifiers to complement suites with fittings and surfaces.

Why make a seat that’s meant to support you hover only a few inches above the ground like a tired street magician? Well, with one simple swipe underneath, wall-hung toilets are far easier to clean than floor-mounted models, while although they look unsure about holding a certain weight of guest, they’re supported by an in-wall frame that can hold up to 400kg, meaning there’s no need to check the bathroom scales before use. The sculptural wall-hung Callipyge toilet from Trone, for example, uses both colour and form to position itself as a piece of art in the bathroom, while its wall-hung positioning allows the freedom to create a unique shape.

The supporting frame used to hold the weight of a wall-hung toilet also houses the toilet’s cistern mechanism, hiding it away and therefore shortening the projection to just the bowl itself – such an advantage in modern households where toilet spaces are becoming smaller and in greater number. With the innovative In-Tank WC, Roca removed the need to find room for the cistern in the first place. Along with its powerful in-bowl flush mechanism, the flush operation can go down there too, meaning a whole new, cleaner look for the toilet, opening up the decorative opportunities of unobstructed surrounding surfaces.

Many contemporary toilet innovations focus on the force of the flush itself, with a development race between the industry’s top brands producing ever more powerful, hygienic and water-efficient systems – as well as competition for the coolest-sounding name. Teams of design engineers and product name think tanks have put their heads and thesauruses together to come up with innovations such as GSI Ceramica’s Swirlflush – increasing water vortex efficiency with a rimless bowl, Villeroy & Boch’s Twistflush – its powerful vortex covering the entire bowl without a splash, Geberit’s Turboflush – increasing vortex power with its asymmetrical internal geometry and VitrA’s Quantumflush – separating flush water into three layers to produce a laminar flow and reduce the vortex’s energy loss.

The starting point for every one of the powerful trademarked flush systems above, along with many others such as Duravit’s D-Neo toilet, for example, is a rimless bowl. With a specially developed HygieneGlaze coating, D-Neo achieves high-quality cleaning power with just the flush alone. But traditional toilet rims don’t just get in the way of flushing water, their impossible-to-reach inner rim also makes them difficult to clean, too. Remove the rim, however, and remove the problem. Toilet cleaning may still not be quite the ‘dream’ experience advertising suggests, but with its rim removed the bowl becomes one single, smooth surface, making cleaning simple and almost effortless.

For those concerned with cleanliness of both body and bowl, active spray toilets offer an intuitive system to combine the functions of toilet and bidet in one product. GROHE’s smart cleaning Sensia Arena toilet, for example, goes a few steps further, connecting the toilet to a power supply and throwing in some additional features. Along with a rimless wash-down jet, Triple Vortex flush and antibacterial non-stick ceramic glazing, Sensia Arena includes two water sprays and an air dryer with adjustable temperature, and a remote- or infra-red-controlled night light and soft-close seat.

No matter how clever supposedly self-cleaning toilets become, it will take a long time for humanity to trust technology to do the entire job itself. Deciding the cleaning schedules for private home toilets is relatively simple with predictable input factors such as usage patterns and the available time of a homeowner or hired cleaning staff. For hardworking toilets in the public sector, however, such as those in transport hubs and entertainment venues, levels of toilet occupancy are harder to predict. LAUFEN’s Smart system for public sanitary spaces combines use detection with either a remote-triggered cleaning operation or by scheduling an in-person appointment, ensuring hygiene remains predictably high.

© Architonic

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