SPECIAL BATH TUB FOR THE ELDERLY
Old people and those who have difficulty standing up for a long time will be able to take a bath comfortably thanks to the special bath tub designed by Pelinsu Babacanlar, a senior at IUE Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Industrial Design. Babacanlar, with her design named “BOURN”, stated that they also prevented injuries caused by wet and slippery surfaces.
Babacanlar said that she based her design on the increase in elderly population. “Despite this increase, old people are freer to move on their own. There is also an increase in the number of old people who can perform their daily chores without being dependent on others. Therefore, my target group was old people who did not need to depend on another person in taking a shower. It may get dangerous for old people to take a shower or bath from time to time. Wet and slippery surfaces in addition to mobility limitations among older adults cause injuries and fractures,” said Babacanlar.
Meets all the needs
Babacanlar pointed out that standing up for a long time would be too tiring for old people, and with the rotatable seat of the design, people would easily reach to where they wanted. She also said that there was a small elevation under the seat which allowed water to pile up so their feet could be in the water for a long time. Babacanlar stated the following:
“Heels of old people develop hard skin and cracks and make it difficult to walk comfortably. This is such a big problem for them that they have to soak their feet in water and use foot file for their heels. They may use the area covered with pumice stone to file their heels as they are taking a bath, and even rotate their seats with the strength they get from their heels. Also, when they want to get rid of the piled up water, they can turn on the water outlet in the back, and drain the water. I used round shapes in designing my bath tub by basing my design on water droplet. BOURN, which is made up of acrylic, has a smooth surface and is very easy to clean.”
