Optimizing Bathroom and Toilet Design in Southwest Nigerian Homes: A Study of Space, Location, and User Experience

Abstract

The arrangement of spaces in a residential apartment plays a very important role in the overall functionality of a building as it determines the quality of users’ experience(s). “Before construction and occupancy, we design our buildings, but the building's design us afterwards”.  Goes a popular saying among construction consultants. This is rightly so as the nature and organisation of space can imply some sort of stressor, otherwise on the occupants. There are certain standards and prerequisites for the designs of lavatories in residential buildings, but research findings have shown that most clients’ requirements, for the few who seek professional input, are not often in tandem with these conventional standards. The wrong location and sizes of lavatories, especially in residential buildings built for commercial purposes, are found to be done in haphazard ways, constituting psychological and social stress to the detriment of the occupants. This research, therefore, investigates the effects of these misplacements in terms of size and spatial allocation as well as location of toilets and bathrooms, considering medical, psychological and social consequences. the research adopted a mixed method approach; data were gathered from 144 (one hundred and forty-four) residents in the 6 (six) states across the Southwestern part of Nigeria using the Purposive Sampling method in a non-probability sample technique. Findings were analysed in percentiles and represented in tables and a pie chart using a Nominal Scale. The research concludes by making recommendations on how these anomalies are better addressed.