A factory-produced bathroom unit, which unifies the discrete appliances of a home bathroom for maximum water and energy efficiency. Greywater from the sink and shower is collected for purification through feeding the “living wall,” and stored for use in flushing the toilet and other systems in the home (such as lawn sprinklers, garbage disposal, etc).
The mission of this project was to unify the sum of disparate water-using systems of a home bathroom. This was done by creating an efficient, intercommunicative unit that provides serenity and eco-effectiveness by coherently combining bathroom systems with each other and with a larger greywater reuse system in the building.

The result is a complete unit, produced in centralized facilities and customized by the purchaser according to their needs (analogous to the way cars are purchased). In addition to the design of the unit itself, an extensive database was compiled containing possible material finishes and fixtures - everything from tile and sinks made from recycled glass and aluminum to multiple options of dual-flush toilets.

Functionality: Greywater collected from the shower and sink is stored in a small holding tank in the lower part of the unit, where it is slowly pumped to the top of the unit and fed into the living wall. A layer of gravel provides initial filtration for the heaviest sediments and detergents, while microscopic bacteria and other organic material are largely removed and absorbed as the water passes through the root systems of the plants in the wall. The filtered water is then stored in a large holding tank behind the shower, where it will be used to flush the toilet and as part of a larger greywater reuse system in the home (which can be used for purposes where potable water is not necessary, such as lawn sprinklers, garbage disposal, etc.).

The material choices are also optimized for best functionality - for example, the stone tile in and around the shower retains heat that is absorbed from hot water during a shower, releasing it slowly over the next few hours. The higher ambient temperature and humidity surrounding the living wall allows for tropical plants (which have more robust filtering capabilities) to be used in temperate climates with no additional energy expended. An inline water heater also provides constant, endless hot water using less energy than it takes to constantly maintain the temperature in a more traditional tank-based water heater (which, as we all know, can and does run out of hot water at inopportune times).

Exhibited at 2007 RISD Industrial Design Triennial, Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI