CASE STUDY: THE ARMONIOSA ESTATE

Barrier-free showers in the Armoniosa House were designed with a luxurious stone and marble aesthetic.

Architects are now incorporating barrier-free bathrooms into the most modern and luxurious interiors. The Armoniosa House, for instance, is a 10,000-square-foot estate built on a 2-acre lot in Las Vegas.

Designed in the modern minimalist style by architect Richard M. Cuen, AIA, of RMC Design + Planning with interiors by Kimberly Joi McDonald of Designing JOI and HGTV personality Donna Moss of Donna Moss Designs, this project features high-end materials that complement the desert atmosphere and a carefully curated art collection throughout the house. The grounds boast water ponds, palm trees, cacti sculptures, and a large swimming pool in the courtyard.

For this project, the experienced design team was tasked with delivering more than a stunning interior. The homeowners wanted their home to be a place where the indoor and outdoor environments existed in harmony with one another. The word “armoniosa” actually means “harmonious” in Spanish.

To that end, designers employed eco-friendly, sustainable, and Passive House design principles to create a project that preserved the well-being of the people in the house, operated with incredible efficiency, and controlled the environmental impact of the residence on the surrounding landscape. Much thought was also put into providing a seamless connection between the indoor and outdoor environments. The house’s facade features 6,000 square feet of glass walls that create the continuity between the interior and exterior living spaces desired by the homeowners.

This open concept was carried into the bathrooms as well, where gorgeous barrier-free shower spaces were designed with a luxurious stone and marble aesthetic, built-in seating, inset shelves, and a sleek linear drain.

Types of Barrier-Free Bathrooms: Dry/Wet versus Wet

When designing a barrier-free bathroom space, perhaps the first question that will need to be addressed is whether the bathroom is intended to be a traditional dry/wet space or a full-on wet room. The traditional dry/wet application refers to a bathroom where some space is designed to get wet and manage water, and other spaces are considered dry and not equipped. The wet areas require waterproofing elements and a drain. In a wet room, the entire bathroom is equipped to manage water, which means that the entire bathroom is waterproofed and sloped toward the drain, which is often located in the center of the room or against one of the walls.

While the combination dry/wet space has certainly been the de facto type of residential bathroom designed, the wet room is gaining momentum, especially as barrier-free and open showers continue to occupy space as the hottest bathroom design trends. In a 2020 House Beautiful article titled “What is a Wet Room Anyway?” Dan DiClerico, a home expert for HomeAdvisor, explains: “A wet-room bathroom is a bathroom where all or most of the surfaces are intended to get wet. It is a very space-efficient strategy, since it allows you to cram more functionality—open shower, tub, toilet, vanity—into the same amount of space.”

Beyond space efficiency, a bathroom that is equipped to handle water everywhere also makes a lot of sense, especially for anyone who has ever dealt with an overflowing sink or toilet or other plumbing issue that so often leads to water trespassing into other parts of the house and causing damage. In fact, in many places, like Europe, it is code mandated to have drainage in certain dry areas, such as near a toilet, sink, or water heater. When a water-related emergency strikes, having a floor drain handy offers a simple fix for something that could have been time- and money-consuming to remedy.

There is also an argument that can be made for a wet room being easier to clean. In bathrooms without floor drains, cleaning a bathroom floor requires both the effective application and removal of the cleaning solution. In a wet room situation, the bathroom can be sprayed down and squeegeed. The floor drain takes care of removing the water from the room.

A linear drain is an ideal drainage solution for both dry/wet and wet barrier-free applications.

CASE STUDY: ROCKET MORTGAGE FIELDHOUSE

At Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, the entire bathroom was designated as a wet room, and the custom linear drains offer increased drainage capacity to accommodate the unique specifications of the NBA.

The Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Constructed in 1994 as the Gund Arena, the stadium underwent a massive $185-million renovation in 2019, when it was transformed from its original design into the ultra-modern arena it is today. Architectural firms SHoP and ROSSETTI were tasked with creating a more contemporary-looking locker room where the Cleveland Cavaliers could get ready and unwind after home games.

Here are a couple of the highlights. The locker room is now three times bigger, and there is a state-of-the-art sound system. The individual lockers were upgraded with features like shoe compartments that have holes for aeration and hinge-free doors. They are even decorated with etchings of Cleveland’s cityscape. An LED board runs across the locker room so that Cavaliers Coach J.B. Bickerstaff can more directly control the mood of his team.

The decision was made to designate the entire bathroom as a wet room, which is a completely waterproofed area. This meant that the design would incorporate waterproofing measures that extended beyond the shower stall to encompass the whole wet-room area. Drains were incorporated into the shower, changing areas, under the sink, and in the adjoining floors, protecting the integrity of the entire locker room.

In the shower areas, a dramatic combination of subway and large-format tiles in deep grey were selected to create a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere. Specification standards set by the NBA demanded a shower drainage system that could accommodate taller-than-usual shower head heights and an increased drainage capacity to avoid flooding. The linear drains selected for this project were fabricated in a custom length to accommodate the unique needs of this space and the client.

In the end, the tailored drainage solution and the additional wet-room measures ensure that no water damage will occur in the bathroom during the regular use of this space by the team’s incredible athletes.