Core77

[David_Ragsdale]

I was talking with a few designers last week about how most urinals are designed terribly. Key features of a bad urinal design as we came up with them:
1) Back of interior is perpendicular or fairly perpendicular to user, causing high amount of splashing.
2) Height restrictive for either taller or shorter users.
3) Inaccessible for cleaning (we came up with some designs not meeting this feature but otherwise great).
4) Looks similar to a sink or toilet (non-intuitive design).

Obviously, decreasing water usage is a big topic in bathroom fixture design (whether through gravity assistance, hydrophobic coatings, etc.). This is not a requirement, but thing I've been keeping in mind. All of the low-water usage urinals I've examined don't meet features 1 or 2 as mentioned above.

We came up with 2 decent designs, but both of them came away to a certain amount of inaccessibility for cleaning without including clamshell-like hinges. Both also incorporated conch shell style curls so as to redirect streams downward without splashing. Can anyone think of a way to meet the low splash feature and the cleaning accessible feature simultaneously without using a high amount of water?

[FluffyData]

Take a look at the urinals at Schiphol: A little psychology goes a long way:



"men, in their urinal behaviour, cannot resist peeing on things, especially if they look as though they might wash away"

Article here: https://worksthatwork.com/1/urinal-fly

[Ross McCoy]

Thanks for posting that article. The fly points out a really simple solution to a greater problem.

I was going to make a smart comment about just giving all men a catheter but figured that's not the correct solution.

The biggest thing to keeping the splash away would be the angle of approach of the stream. if you go full force perpendicular to the surface then you are bound to make a splash. Options could be as simple as aiming onto a steep slope leading away from you instead of aiming towards a perpendicular surface. How about making the bowl much deeper? Make it as funnel like as you can.

[Sain]

We had a classmate do a urinal project during school. One of our professors recommended he pick up this book. It goes into great deal about the ergonomics of the bathroom. It even had a specific section on how to optimize the urinal shape to minimize splashing.

https://www.amazon.com/Bathroom-Alexand ... 0140043713

[ralphzoontjens]

So much has already been done in urinal design. I never had much of a problem with splashing against the back wall, that's a matter of aiming.. a bigger problem is that often they don't flush or drain well and that causes splashing. My ideal urinal would not let any liquid that is not my own come near me. It would be like an infinite tunnel without a visible end.

[David_Ragsdale]

We had a classmate do a urinal project during school. One of our professors recommended he pick up this book. It goes into great deal about the ergonomics of the bathroom. It even had a specific section on how to optimize the urinal shape to minimize splashing.

https://www.amazon.com/Bathroom-Alexand ... 0140043713

After a little research, this book seemed to be the definitive text covering toilet/urinal design. I can't find a copy anywhere cheap, but if I can pick one up for under $30 I am definitely getting it.

[Dan Lewis]

Obviously, decreasing water usage is a big topic in bathroom fixture design (whether through gravity assistance, hydrophobic coatings, etc.). This is not a requirement, but thing I've been keeping in mind. All of the low-water usage urinals I've examined don't meet features 1 or 2 as mentioned above.

There are a number of no-water urinals on the market now -- Kohler, American Standard, Sloan are a few. They all use a variation of the same drain/vapor sealing system that could be applied to any shape.

[Generatewhatsnext]

The "fly on the wall" graphic is on urinals all throughout the Netherlands (makes sense as ALL their design makes sense )...simple solution to a common problem!

On a related note, our football stadium was one of several across the US that took part in a female-urinal focus group test that lasted about six months. All participants responded with a resounding 'no'...it's hard to change people's perceptions, so even though most all women hover over a toilet anyway, the idea of doing so amongst a row of other women was not appealing. They're becoming more popular in some areas of South America and Asia, at least.