I'd like a McShower please...and supersize it!

I’d like a McShower please…and supersize it!

On February 26, 2010, in Observations, by Bob Borson

Hidden Cove Residence by AlterStudio

I am starting the lose it with showers in new homes. They just keep getting bigger and bigger; as soon as I think they can’t possibly add another feature – POW! – another feature.

When I decided to write this post (this morning while I was in my shower) I spent some time thinking about what sort of image would best convey my issues?

A large builder home shower
How about a shower with 37 body sprays and rain heads
Maybe one with more than 4 different tiles surrounded by frosted glass that had a large flower motif (I found loads of those by the way)
Or something very beautiful but just…a bit…much

I decided to go with the later and it was easy to find a image that fit that my needs. I first saw the shower above about a year or two ago and thought it was an amazingly beautiful and extremely well detailed shower. I still think those things, in fact, I wish I had designed that shower. The thing about showers that I struggle with is the practical aspects of showers with creating the beauty of these showers. If you design modern houses, you know that you aren’t supposed to ignore the practical aspects of anything – Form follows Function – it’s a rule, it’s the rule.

Showers are getting larger and larger, they are surrounded by glass, they have slot drains at one end instead of the round drain right in the middle. Okay, I am going to digress for this one point – who first decided to put the drain in the middle of the shower? Did they think it would be awesome to have to stand on the thing while using the shower?

Okay – back on point

These large showers don’t hold in the heat very well. I suppose that’s why there has to be 37 body sprays and rain heads, so they can get enough hot water into the room to keep you from freezing. And who wants to clean all that glass? I know, most people who own these large modern homes aren’t actually the ones having to do any of the cleaning, a point I have made myself on many occasions. Where do you put your shower stuff? The poofs, the razors, the shampoo and conditioners? If you are me, I have a razor, a bar of soap, and a bottle of shampoo. My wife, on the other hand, has an veritable smoothie bar assortment of mango-this and moonlight lily that (and yes, she does in fact, smell great thanks for asking). But where does all this stuff go? Can you imagine your disappointment if there was soap scum on the glass of the shower above? Maybe they don’t really use it and they hose off in the garden so that the shower always looks as good as it does in the picture. Do you have to clean off the Mexican river pebbles – soap scum goes everywhere. How often do you have to do that?

Therein lies my struggle. I love that shower above, I mean love it. But the way it looks isn’t entirely the point of a shower is it? One of the major original objectives of modern architecture was make a certain quality of living available to the public through mass production and the mechanization of the construction process. It was never to have an end product where everything has to be perfectly clean put away or it looks terrible.

One of the pioneers of modernism, Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier, famously issued the quote “A house is a machine for living in” in a collection of essays published in 1923 titled ‘Vers Une Architecture’ translated as ‘Towards an Architecture’ -a book that is literally required reading for every student of architecture. No doubt, he would be rolling over in his grave at the interpretations of the maxims that define modern architecture. Or maybe he’s rolling over to get a better look? I don’t know, maybe someone screwed up the translation and it really should be “A house is a machine to be cleaned” – I hope not, that’s a terrible rule.

About the author

Bob Borson

Dallas architect who specializes in modern design. I'm AIA, Leed AP, NCARB certified, and previous Dallas AIA Young Architect of the Year (2009).

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details and Design

Hey Bob!Like the post…and the shower. I tend to agree with you and obviously you are torn a bit….I am working on a bathroom now where the shower is literally most of the room….96×166…huge! but it is a wet room concept with tub in there as well and in an old house! I think the heat issue is very valid one and something to consider but that can be addressed as well. in this shower, radiant heat is going under the floor…everywhere. keep up the good work!
details and Design

Hey Bob!Like the post…and the shower. I tend to agree with you and obviously you are torn a bit….I am working on a bathroom now where the shower is literally most of the room….96×166…huge! but it is a wet room concept with tub in there as well and in an old house!

I think the heat issue is very valid one and something to consider but that can be addressed as well. in this shower, radiant heat is going under the floor…everywhere. keep up the good work!
bborson

That is huge! We have also done a few wet rooms but the owners haven't been in them so long thaat we have a feel for how they like them over the long haul. I can't really say why we don't get clients to do more radiant floors?…but then again, it's Texas and people don't ever think about it getting cold here.Let me know how yours turns out.
bborson

That is huge! We have also done a few wet rooms but the owners haven't been in them so long thaat we have a feel for how they like them over the long haul. I can't really say why we don't get clients to do more radiant floors?…but then again, it's Texas and people don't ever think about it getting cold here.

Let me know how yours turns out.
modernemama

I think if your the sort of person that likes a minimalist look (like me) you also wouldn't want a whole plethora of bottles and stuff cluttering the space. I buy shampoo/conditioner/body wash in a co-ordinating range that I display in a niche or on a shower shelf and take the washcloth in and out of the shower with me. I have toyed with the idea of decanting the products into clear plastic bottles but that seems a little too OCD! The last person to shower in the morning squeegees and cleaning products are kept in a closet. That keeps the space clutter-free. Much as I love the shower in the photo, though, I feel it's just too big – no matter how much heating you put in there, naked wet bodies get cold fast.My question is: where do the towels go?
modernemama

I think if your the sort of person that likes a minimalist look (like me) you also wouldn't want a whole plethora of bottles and stuff cluttering the space. I buy shampoo/conditioner/body wash in a co-ordinating range that I display in a niche or on a shower shelf and take the washcloth in and out of the shower with me. I have toyed with the idea of decanting the products into clear plastic bottles but that seems a little too OCD! The last person to shower in the morning squeegees and cleaning products are kept in a closet. That keeps the space clutter-free. Much as I love the shower in the photo, though, I feel it's just too big – no matter how much heating you put in there, naked wet bodies get cold fast.
My question is: where do the towels go?
http://www.tonystefan.com Tony Stefan

Your point about (high) modernism as efficient gets to a key point about contemporary modernism: it's not about improving access to design any more. The European modernists were socialists, and their stripped-down aesthetic was intended to increase access to design. Rejection of Neo-classicism is often taught as a rejection of a moribund aesthetic, but there were some very long socialist/ marxist coat-tails in that movement that are not appreciated or taught today. Plainly, it was just too expensive to build a neo-classical building, and modernism provided a way for owners to cut costs while maintaining prestige. The content and original intention are forgotten today, and “modern design” is just hip. The same architectural spirit that moved architects in the 1920's now incorporates salvaged materials using a design/build method in disadvantaged communities.
Guest

My father was an architect, and I learned from him a very basic question, “where will you put the broom?” which he always used to demonstrate to his clients the need for additional storage areas which they apparently always underestimated. From him I also learned the rule of drain placement in showers – in the center of the quadrant closest to the shower head, never in the center of the shower.
http://twitter.com/melissabrumback Melissa Brumback

That thing just looks cold to me. Brrrrwwwhh. I like my showers cozy and warm, thank you very much. Whenever I see a house that is too picture-perfect, I always wonder what tiny little room in the back is the one they *really* live in– you know, with the cheeto crumbs, television, and trash novels? B/c you *know* they have one!
Sabreist

FIRE PLACE!!! bet you haven't seen that in a shower. no one will ever see the heated floors. but a fire place in the shower that a feature no can ignore…. now just how to actually use the shower
guest

That’s a very pretty shower. Really it is. Know what’s not pretty? Me trying to clean all of the crevices on full display. I struggle with these glass wall showers if both use the bathroom simultaneously…maybe I’m too shy. And after using one of those showers, once you step out of the rain head it’s freezing! Maybe they are best suited for your guests rinsing off after your pool party of pretty people. But you can pump in a bunch of heat and other warm water…screw conservation.
Danalutz

Love imagining the veritable smoothie bar!
Danalutz

I love my radiant floor! Its awesome! Bob, have you ever done a hidden medicine cabinet within a shower to hide the bottles, razors, etc? I’d be interested to know if that would be possible. My other favorite shower feature is to have the turn on water valve next to the door as I enter rather than directly under the shower head, this way I never have that awkward first blast of water!
theYoungArchitect

I think we should take a deep breath before we criticize any shower through the lens of “form follows function.” But, because this seems to be a very popular shower, maybe we should go a bit deeper. Primarily, Bob, I think you’ve misinterpreted this law. Banal practicality was not the intent of this late 19th Century mantra; Sullivan is well know for using the word “organic” in the most important of his architectural commentaries. It was his vision that spaces should be designed in such a way that they could “evolve” to meet the needs to their inhabitants, not that they should simply measure up to stark utilitarianism. As far as this particular shower goes…
I could imagine that bench on the edge serving myriad purposes; the large plate glass window and the space’s connection to the exterior might captivate my own attention enough to use this shower for much more than washing my body: I can imagine sitting on that bench passing time with warm water running, enjoying the meditative effects that the inclusion of the natural environment in such an intimate space has. It could even serve as the elusive home for the smoothie bar of bathroom products.

As much of a stretch as this is, I believe this small space (admittedly, it is a massive shower! I believe the same effects could be accomplished with a more efficient use of space) very poignantly captures the ideal of another of Le Corbusier’s points from ‘Vers Une Architecture:’ the open plan. Programmatically, this is obviously a shower. But it’s far more versatile than my traditional conception of a shower. It can effectively be used for more than just cleaning yourself. Maybe I’m alone in this, but I would be inspired by the simple aesthetic decisions the designer has put to good use in this shower.
Anonymous

I think you missed the tenor of this article. I don’t think anybody feels that this is a bad shower or that the components within the shower were ill-conceived. This shower is just a but much for serving it’s intended functional purpose so that’s why you (and others) have been quick to point all all the extras.

I do not what to people to walk away thinking that I don’t like this shower visually or that I am incapable of imagining how lovely it would be to spend time in this space doing more than washing my body. And practically speaking, the purpose the bench undoubtedly serves is a place where a woman can place her foot as she shaves her leg.

and I’ll have to remember your concept of a big room being called an open plan – that’s architect speak if I’ve ever heard it.

I’m not going to outwardly disagree with any of the points you make because as a starting point of conversation, I agree with your comment (same points have been in play since my freshman year of architecture school in 1986). I just don’t have the energy to defend my position on this one.

Cheers
Hamilton Todd

As much as I like Kevin Alter’s supersized shower from a visual point of view, from a green point of view(green as in movement not the color) it’s abit obscene. Likely the water drains into the sewer systems thus forever avoiding using gray water in residential work. Yes I love the way it looks who doesn’t but really how much H2O does a daily shower require. We are going way of the Romans. Todd Hamilton