Plumbing Connection Summer 2017

8 2

PLUMBING CONNECTION Summer 2017

THE BATHROOM IN A BOX

rowing populations, energy

resource issues and rises in

house prices are affecting

how homes are being designed and

built. According to

The Australian,

unpublished Australian Bureau of

Statistics (ABS) data shows the average

new home in Australia in 2016 was

192m

compared to 222m

in 2009.

As the size of homes decrease

and more people move into small

apartments, terraces and townhouses,

there is a need for space efficient

bathroom appliances that will

revolutionise bathrooms the same

way washer/dryer combinations did

for laundries., particularly in high

population density cities.

This is the idea behind the Australian-

designed UB1 product from Sydney-

based UNIQ Bathrooms. UB1 is a

bathroom appliance that provides up

to three fixtures in one, concealing a

retractable toilet and basin with no taps

or accessories, as well as an optional

shower.

“We saw the need to rationalise the

design of bathroom components and

find ways to prefabricate, optimise

space and reduce the costs of the most

expensive part of the house,” says UNIQ

Bathrooms director Malcolm Carver.

“In a traditional bathroom, each

fixture takes up dedicated space with

little duplication and we saw that

bathrooms needed an appliance to

become more affordable and space

efficient.”

UNIQ Bathrooms has designed a toilet

and basin that can be folded away so all

sanitary fixtures, including the taps and

accessories, are concealed flush within

the bathroom wall or under a vanity

bench. Malcolm says this means each

function of the bathroom can be carried

out using the same 1m

space.

“We tried to change the whole

concept of what a bathroom is by de-

cluttering the space so that the room

enables multi-functional uses.”

$Q $XVWUDOLDQ GHVLJQHG FRPSDFW EDWKURRP DSSOLDQFH HQDEOHV WKH WRLOHW DQG DOO VDQLWDU\ ¿[WXUHV WR

disappear from the bathroom, revolutionising bathroom design.

Adelle King

reports.

MODULAR BATHROOMS

The UB1 allows each function of the bathroom to be carried out using the same 1m

space. UNIQ Bathroom’s retractable toilet and basin can be folded out and away.

There are three appliance models

available, the UB1, which is a combined

basin and toilet, the UB2, which is the

toilet alone, and the UB1+S, which is the

combined basin and toilet with plumbing

for a remote shower head.

All three units discharge waste into an

existing 100mm sewer pipe connection

in the wall or the floor, with hot and cold

water inlets similar to those required for

a dishwasher installation. The remaining

plumbing is all contained within the

appliance, with the exception of the

optional flexible pipe to the shower head

mode.

The sewer trap to the toilet is a

patented rotating ‘R’ trap that Malcolm

says is similar to an S trap but with

a hinged joint, sealed with ‘O’ rings

that close in a V shape to provide the

required water seal.

There are hand sensors in lieu of taps,