The 'Toilet Of The Future' Competition Yields Revolutionized Design

by uInterviewDecember 9, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

A competition to design “the toilet of the future” run by the U.K.’s Dyno-Rod Drains inspired a trio of students who went on to develop an award-winning prototype.

Victor Johansson, Pierre Papet and Samuel Sheard are the three University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins students who designed a modern squat toilet – named the "well-being toilet" – complete with a number of technological innovations. The toilet would have the ability to analyze the user’s waste to detect a number of health issues, including diabetes and kidney diseases.

Put on in honor of World Toilet Day last month, the competition wanted to “"raise awareness on how we can upgrade the current 130 year old flush toilet to one that benefits our health and the environment." The most notable, and also the most basic, feature of the wellbeing toilet is it’s structure. In other words, the well-being toilet is shaped to force users into a squatting position.

"Essentially, this toilet is forcing a new way of sitting which to a large extent doesn't exist, culturally speaking, in the west yet," Johansson told NBC News. "But I think when people start realizing the benefits they might be tempted to switch."

The benefits Johansson referred to include the reality that squatting provides a lesser likelihood of obstruction. When people face obstruction when going to the bathroom, it can lead to several health concerns – both minor and more serious, such as colon infections.

The common design of the ceramic toilet in the west was introduced in 1870, and hasn’t changed much since. While squatting toilets are commonly believed to be a healthier option to the current standby, their ability to catch on quickly with the general public is dubious.

According to Johansson, “If you asked a toilet customer in the UK if he would consider buying a squatting toilet he would laugh at you."

– Chelsea Regan

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