TOTO recently financed an educational trip for 17 American architects to visit its Universal Design Research Center for Advanced Science & Technology in Chigasaki, Japan. During the trip, TOTO also orchestrated opportunities for the visitors to meet with Japanese architects in the field of Universal Design and sustainability and tour additional facilities that focus on these initiatives.
“Architects are stewards of the built environment,” said Lenora Campos, Ph.D., TOTO corporate spokesperson. “TOTO wishes to collaborate with these designers of tomorrow’s homes and commercial buildings to ensure that their structures are inhabitable, usable and effective for all people, no matter their age or ability, and have minimal impact on the environment.”
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The trip was part of TOTO’s partnership with the American Institute of Architects (AIA), which is intended to connect the architectural community with industry leaders and in doing so, expand the sharing of knowledge, increase access to vital information, and advance the discussion of key issues facing the profession of architecture.
TOTO established its Universal Design Research Center for Advanced Science & Technology in 2002 and simultaneously developed a network of more than 280 people of varying ages and physical abilities from inside and outside the company to test its products on an ongoing basis. To make sure its product designers and engineers experience firsthand the reduced physical movements of individual with special needs, TOTO designed a system that adds weights to the joints of their arms and legs. This way, they are able to better understand the difficulty someone might have rising from a sitting to standing position, lowering themselves from a standing to a sitting position, or getting in and out of enclosures such as tubs and shower stalls.
Photos courtesy of TOTO:
Top Photo:
For more than 30 years, TOTO has developed plumbing products based on its ‘Five Principles of Universal Design’: minimal physical exertion, simple and intuitive, adaptability, comfort, and safety. In 2002, the company formally established its Universal Design Research Center for Advanced Science & Technology and simultaneously developed a network of more than 280 people of varying ages and physical abilities from inside and outside the company to test its products on an ongoing basis.
Bottom Photo:
Wearing an Age Simulation Suit, a Product Engineer at TOTO’s Universal Design Research Center for Advanced Science & Technology learns first hand the difficulty a physically challenged person has getting out of the tub.
