Premium bathroom furnishings with products from the O.novo Vita collection

Could accessible and design-oriented products from high-quality bath collections, such as O.novo

Vita, Architectura Vita or Lifetime contribute to a de-stigmatisation?

Villeroy&Boch has a major advantage here: in this target group, the company enjoys an enormous

amount of trust and stands for design, tradition and quality. With accessible systems, the company

has set a new course. The products are developed intensively in collaboration with the target group

in a participatory process. The result is impressive solutions. It is fun to watch this process unfold.

What criteria must a new product meet in order to reach the target group?

There are certain limitations that must be offset with age, whether poor mobility, limited eyesight or

hearing. Product development is mainly about subtly and invisibly integrating the support functions

and not about blatantly developing and advertising furniture for people with a disability. We have

realised that the things that older people use are not necessarily a bad thing for younger people. So

there is a need for sex appeal and a little technology – but not too much.

Personal details: Michael Schlenke is the owner and founder of the consulting company The Caretakers, which

specialises in strategy and product development. He acts as a consultant and advises companies entering the

growing healthcare market. Schlenke is a member of iF – Industrieforum Design – and of the research group

‘The Room - The Bathroom’, that develops lifelong bathroom solutions for renovations in the housing industry.

www.the-caretakers.com

INTERVIEW

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