Design Considerations for Changing Facilities.

April 30, 2018

Undertaking a Shower Room or Changing Area refurbishment can be a very tricky task. With various elements to consider, from both a building perspective and also the requirements end-users need from the space, it can be hard to know where to start.

Refurbishing a changing room can be broken down into three key areas; the changing space, the showers, and the toilet and hand-washing area. As well as making sure there is adequate space for sanitaryware such as toilet pans, urinals and wash-basins, you also need to think about a users journey as they navigate through your facilities. You may consider widening door thresholds to create better passing space, or section changing benches to either side of a main thoroughfare to further aid user flow.

Meanwhile, precautions need to be made to ensure the water is safe for users, mitigating the risk of scalding by using a Thermal Mixing Valve, or water-born bacteria, such as Legionella. You might also want to look at technologies like sensor activation, which can significantly improve the hygiene of your wash space. By employing infra-red lighting sensors, LED lights, and even infra-red heating panels, you can ensure that energy is only being used when someone is actually in your changing room.

Below we take a look at those three main areas of a changing and shower facility, highlighting the key design considerations that need to be kept in mind:

Changing rooms

It goes without saying that users in the changing room need to keep their clothes and belongings dry at all costs. With those returning from the shower dripping wet, this means providing generous storage by way of shelves, lockers, hooks and benches. It’s also imperative that some form of anti-slip safety flooring is fitted to prevent unnecessary slips and accidents. Other considerations and dimensions include:

Layouts must provide flexibility for different proportions of male/female use.
Generally, the minimum area is calculated at 1m2 per person.
Provide a minimum clearance of 1.5m in front of lockers so that open locker doors do not obstruct circulation.
Each player needs 500mm bench length at a depth of 450mm. Note that two places are lost when benching is carried around an internal corner.
Clothes storage lockers can be arranged in central banks or along changing room walls.
Minimum locker size is 900mm high, 300mm wide and 450mm deep.
Raised clothes storage lockers on a 150mm plinth to protect from corrosion.
Lockers located in changing areas must be of a moisture-resistant construction.
Room sizes should take account of the space taken up by the lockers.

Showers

Anti-slip safety flooring should be installed throughout your changing room, but particular attention needs to be given to the showers. Wet areas often require a different kind of anti-slip property so that they work with wet bare feet. Products like Altro Aquarius have been developed for this specific purpose and can be taken into a wide range fo floor gulleys ad Aco drains. Other considerations and dimensions include:

Each changing unit requires its own showers located as far as possible from changing entrances and WCs to minimise water migration and to separate mud and moisture.
Allow one shower point to every three or four changing spaces.
Shower outlets should be at 750mm intervals with 450-500mm between end fittings and side walls. Fittings carried around an internal corner should maintain these minimum standards.
Showers on opposing walls should be spaced 2.5m apart to permit a central circulation route and will require a separate dry-off area to one end.
Showers should be at the far end of any changing area and never accessed directly from the main corridors.

Toilets

This area is arguably going to see the most traffic and as such needs to take in strong durability specs. DUCT sets are a powerful move in this arena, allowing you to create an integrated plumbing system, concealing all mains services in a clean and tidy void. DUCT sets also make the space much easier to clean by reducing the exposed surface area. Toilet cubicles need to be able to stand up to this damp humid environment, making materials like solid grade laminate a powerful contender as it’s completely impervious to water, meaning it will never swell or weaken from ingress water. Other considerations and dimensions include:

Men’s facilities should be provided with one WC, two urinals and two washbasins per 20 changing spaces.
Women’s facilities should be provided with two WCs and two washbasins per 20 changing spaces.
Larger pavilions (with four or more team changing units) need a minimum of one WC and one washbasin en-suite within each team changing unit, with the balance made up centrally.

The above information is supplied with good faith and to the best of our knowledge, we recommend checking with a local building surveyor to ensure full compliance.

Reference: Sports England.

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