Kohler's Dimensions of Wellbeing Explores Hygiene Within Design
KOHLER, Wisconsin: Kohler Co., a global leader in the design and innovation of kitchen and bath products, debuts its Perspective of the Year: Dimensions of Wellbeing, expanding on the series of thought-provoking perspectives brought forth by the company. Dimensions of Wellbeing explores the profound impact design can have on wellbeing, particularly the importance of healthy habits, clean environments and personal hygiene to the overall experience.
"There are so many crucial layers or dimensions to the concept of wellbeing," says Lun Cheak Tan, Kohler's VP of Industrial Design. "At a most basic level, meeting essential health needs in a space by incorporating clean materials and products to a very cerebral idea of how every single interaction can influence our state of mind and our mental and spiritual health."
Kohler's Perspective of the Year introduces an ongoing dialogue among architects, designers, brands and industry influencers around the global to embrace moments of enrichment, creativity and introspection. The perspective further challenges convention, provokes discussion and identifies how shifting currents in fashion, business, lifestyles and culture bear on the future of architecture and design. Conversely how A&D can respond to the socio-economic events to reinforce these emerging individual and communal rituals/habits.
"We developed the Perspective of the Year to start conversations. We're exploring where design and culture meet. At Kohler, we have a depth and a breadth of products that allow us to meet users at many points along their wellbeing journey," says Casey Flanagan, KOHLER Director Brand Strategy & Consumer Insights.
Utilizing global design forecasting married with consumer insights, Dimensions of Wellbeing opens a window into the way lifestyles and personal habits change and evolve in response to global events and encourages a relevant and future-facing conversation around the significant co-existent relationship between environments and wellbeing.
"The bathroom is actually the hub for wellbeing. It's where you experience a renewal through your hygiene routine, and it's also a space in which you have privacy and you're able to disconnect. It's a task-oriented space and a living space," says Erin Lilly, Kohler's Decorative Design Studio Manager. "The wellbeing that we derive from our spaces we then carry with us throughout our day as we affect others through our interactions. In this way, we see the architect and designer's role as critical to creating greater health and happiness in our societies."
Key elements of this discussion include the intersection of hygiene and design, the bathroom's role as a sacred sanctuary for personal cleanliness and self-care, the health of consumer's relationship with technology, communities, infrastructure and the wellbeing of the environment. Dimensions of Wellbeing looks at the physical spaces as fundamental sources of physical, mental and spiritual health.
The discussion surrounding Kohler's Perspective of the Year focuses on several impactful product categories including intelligent toilets, bidets seats, touchless faucets and matte black finish, that help to express elements of wellbeing within a space.
