Customer Focused Design
Whilst your vision for your changing rooms might be modern, slick and imaginative, its important to also think about the Customer Experience when creating your design. How many lockers and cubicles will fit in the area you have allocated for your changing rooms? Is this enough for the number of users you expect to have? Too many lockers or cubicles and you’ll have no room to get into them, too little and you’ll have some frustrated customers on your hands.
Cater For Everyone
According to research done by GT3 Architects “85% of caregivers surveyed find it incredibly difficult to deal with the challenges of a leisure centre – such as where to put a child while you get changed or how to get into the pool safely if your child cannot stand by themselves – particularly when alone.” Leisure centres currently only cater for 16% of the population, so make sure your design your changing rooms to cater for as many people as possible.
Customer Journey
An important aspect of the design of your changing rooms is the customer journey. Think about everything the user will see when they arrive, how can you make their lives easier in the changing rooms. For instance, you don’t want to have wet areas as an access point to dry areas in the changing rooms, make sure the flow of your design fits within your customer’s journey.
Materials for your Lockers and Cubicles
A variety of materials could be used within your changing room design, but its important to think about their versatility as well as their look. For example, metal lockers probably wouldn’t be the ideal choice for a changing room due to the materials potential to change under humidity.
Laminate lockers and cubicles are ideally suited for schools, commercial projects as well as leisure centres and can be used for both wet and dry areas with a variety of locking systems.
Another great choice for your changing rooms would be Glass Lockers. Providing a clean-cut contemporary look, either laminate doors are over-clad with tempered glass or RAL coloured glass is used for the doors. Using a mix of laminate and glass doors can create a striking contrast, or you could complement your lockers with Glass Cubicles. The non-porous nature of the materials means the surface doesn’t absorb or allow the ingress or particles, creating a fresh, sanitary solution for your changing rooms project
The great thing is both laminate and glass lockers can be manufactured in a variety of colours too.
Technology
Modern solutions for changing rooms now include a range of technology. The most frequently used within a changing room is heated lockers.
Whether it be coming out of the pool and wanting warm clothes to change into, or somewhere to dry damp clothes, heated lockers are a great addition to a leisure centre, spa or swimming pool changing room. Available with metal or laminate doors, a perforated base allows the circulation of warm air inside the locker, with perforated slots at the top allowing the damp air to flow out, keeping the inside of the locker nice and toasty.
Lighting and Circulation
As changing rooms tend to be areas of high humidity, its important to consider the ventilation and circulation of air throughout the changing rooms to stop the spread of bacteria and bad smells! If you keep the room well circulated, this will minimize the humidity and smell.
Keep the lighting open and welcoming, you don’t want lights too bright that blind your customers as they’re getting ready, but you also want them to be able to see what they’re getting out of their locker.
Think logically, having no light at a mirror is not helpful. Also noting that side lighting creates fewer shadows can help make your changing rooms an ambient yet practical space.
Other Amenities to consider
You’ll also want to consider the other amenities you will be providing in your changing room.
- How many bins are appropriate for the space and usage?
- Do you need a designated family changing room?
- Where will you be positioning bench seating?
- Do you want to provide vanity areas with mirrors and hairdryers?
You might not need all of the extras in your changing room, if its not something you think your users are going to need, then don’t worry about including them!
Source: PBJS Magazine
