Page 28 - School Planning & Management, May 2017

FACILITIES { LEARNING SPACES }
Rethinking Restroom, Shower Room and Locker Room Design
For a variety of reasons, restroom, shower room and locker room designs are changing. Here’s a look at what’s driving those changes and what the spaces look like.
By Ellen Kollie
WHEN IT COMES TO RESTROOM, SHOWER room and locker room design, school administrators have traditionally wanted the usual: durability and
ease of maintenance. “School business officials are worried about money,” affirms Robert Wroble, AIA, LEED AP, associate director of K-12 Education with Chicago-headquartered Legat Architects. “They want durability, not things that are going to fall apart. They want the maintenance staff to be able to care for those spaces ef- ficiently and effectively on a daily basis.”
Achieving that durability has traditionally been accomplished
via gang-style restrooms in which rows of stalls, created by short dividers, face rows of sinks; open shower rooms outfitted with mul- tiple shower heads; and locker rooms filled with rows of lockers and benches. There’s no doubt that these designs allow for easy mainte- nance and repair of plumbing, fixtures and HVAC equipment.
While cost savings, durability and ease of maintenance are still important, as we will learn more about in this article, administra- tors also desire safety and for all students to feel comfortable using restrooms, shower rooms and locker rooms. To that end, here’s what’s happening in the design of these spaces today.
28 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / MAY 2017
WEBSPM.COM
PHOTOS © NEIL KOPPES PHOTOGRAPHY