In today’s digital era, the architect and design community has an overwhelming amount of products and designs to choose from. And while this can be a seemingly daunting task, it also creates an opportunity to specify the ideal solutions for upcoming projects—from aesthetics to sustainability and everything in between.
That’s why commercial restroom manufacturers like Sloan are working to innovate online solutions to provide architects and designers with a creative head start in the specification process. Jeff Gilmore, Sloan Director of Strategic Accounts, is helping to lead this digital revolution.
What spawned the origin of the industry’s digital specification resources?
Architects and designers are faced with the important task of finding the right products for a specific project. But this can often be a tedious process with a myriad of options at their disposal. And with time being of the essence for many of these projects, it’s equally important to not fall behind on your timeline right off the bat.
Simply put, architects, designers, and engineers were spending too much time on the specification process. Now, with innovations like Sloan DesignSpec, that process is more efficient and easier than ever to help create a finished spec submittal package. We understand that your spec submittal should be more than just a checklist—it should also be a polished presentation that showcases your vision. DesignSpec makes building that presentation simple, intuitive, and fast.
But it’s also the products you’re presenting that are tailored to each project. Sloan’s product search tools like its Faucet Finder help to pinpoint the perfect faucet based on a number of options such as spout design, power type, list price, and more. Gone are the days of taking time to sift through products you’re not interested in!
How is Sloan helping to spark creativity in the specification process?
At Sloan, we act as an extension of your design team to kickstart the creative process. It’s our goal to help cut down on time spent on research and exploration, while finding clean floor plans and elegant materials. Sloan Room Ideas help achieve this in just a few clicks with pages spanning a number of markets including high-end restaurants, fitness centers, coworking spaces, luxury hotels, and more. Each page offers inspirational photos, lists of Sloan products that make them possible, and even complementary products and materials that make the perfect accents. You’ll also find links to download assets for your spec submittal package, including hi-res images and BIM/CAD files.
As a commercial building’s second most-visited space after the main lobby, the restroom has great potential to leave a positive lasting impression on its guests—and cohesive design is a major driving force behind this. Now, thanks to Sloan’s Collections Series, designers can bundle Sloan products together that have similar aesthetic qualities in one simple download. These products strategically work together—from their geometric shape to custom special finishes—to inspire unified design in today’s contemporary restroom environment.
How are online resources helping to achieve sustainability goals?
Just as the commercial restroom plays a leading role in a guest’s impression of a building, it also plays an important part in a facility’s sustainability goals. Achieving LEED status is a primary objective of many of today’s most notable projects, and when you consider that the majority of a building’s water consumption takes place in the restroom, finding sustainable products is a key component in specifying a sustainable restroom.
It’s for this reason that Sloan takes our sustainability commitment to heart with our water-saving products and the online resources to help architects and designers find them. Sloan’s Sustainability Calculator allows users to tabulate water savings based on the input of a specific Sloan product, while also adding up a building’s water usage utilizing Sloan products compared to LEED baselines. Sloan’s Green Product Finder is another way to help specifiers track down green products with certifications and eligible credits toward sustainable building systems.
This is the 27th edition in a series of Q&A segments with Sloan subject matter experts for their take on where the commercial restroom has been, what it’s evolved to now, and where it’s headed. A previous edition on restroom design inspiration can be found here.
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