This was the second and final project I worked on during my Erasmus semester at ESAD in Portugal. We work alongside a massive ceramics company, Sanindusa, and the prompt was to design a toilet and bidet combo that followed the design language of their brand.
Comparative Analysis
Comparing competing models of toilets to one of Sanindusa's own showed how price is affected by weight, features and complexity. I looked into the types of flushes these toilets used as well as their overall design, size and adjustability.
Moodboards
These were an aesthetic requirement but I knew from the start that I wanted to create something with a simple minimalistic design, featuring only some simple sculptural lines. I did also consider applying a texture to the exterior as Sanindusa had done with one of their products.
Sketches
I did not do too much sketching for this project, as one of the first thumbnail sketches I made was immediately my favourite, and I began working with CAD very early on, making sure that it would be possible to model.
Initial CAD Model
These early stages allowed me to see how the toilet would look, and how complex the internal structure would have to be to make this design realistic. I decided at this stage that while many of my peers would only go to this level of detail, I wanted to go much, much further, in order to make something realistic, technically sound, and something I could be proud of.
Further CAD Development
The amount of work that went into this section of the process was significant, and the better refined structure, and better considered production feasability made it worth it. I had created a structure with fully realistic draft angles, interior air pockets to reduce weight, and even found that the rimflush matrix I had developed would not be possible to mold in ceramic due to the overhangs it had. Therefore I made this a seperate component that could be 3D-printed in ceramic and installed after the bowl was made, so that it was completely feasible and realistic. The bottom right image shows the mold profiles and how they would slot into each other so that the bowl would be a perfect negative of these components.
Pattern Considerations
Sanindusa has a product called the Sanlife Textured Toilet, a model that has an exterior texture. I wasn't a huge fan of their implementation as it has no practical use, and can only be seen very faintly, but I decided to give something similar a go. The result wasn't exactly how i'd imagined it, and I concluded that It would not further this project in any meaningful way, and therefore left it behind.
Bidet Design Adaptation
The bidet was pretty simple to make, I just hollowed out the underside of the toilet and replaced the bowl with a previous version I had saved before the rimflush or Y-Trap were created, and instead installed a simple drain. The tap I chose is from a fellow design student, and it suits the Bidet well while offering great flexibility of use.
Technical Drawings
The professor didn't like that I used wireframe drawings for my technical drawings, but I wanted to show the detailed interior structure I had worked so hard to develop, and ultimately the Sanindusa team had the deciding vote.
Renders
I did all of my rendering in Blender, a software I have been working on developing my skills in this last year. I created an immersive bathroom environment equipped with my designs, as well as a Sanindusa sink unit and bathtub for added realism.
Final Presentation Slide
For the final presentation, in front of the Sanindusa CEO and Head of Design, I showed the below slide. I originally made a slide that was half technical, half aesthetic, but was told by the professor to reduce this. Despite it being a lot less technical in the end than I had wanted, most of my presentation was about the technical features and realistic structure I had created, and the Sanindusa leadership seemed very happy with this, as they deemed my project worthy of a Merit Award.
The award was handed over by the CEO of Sanindusa (left), their head designer (right), and there were two other students who won different awards to my left and right
