The toilet that knows how not to pollute water flows

Despite all the advances in the design and construction of buildings and infrastructure, the management of wastewater in our buildings has not undergone any major changes in the last centuries. In recent years, it has become evident that design must not only respond to aesthetic and functional requirements, but take into account a product’s complete life cycle, as well as understand the wider ecosystem in which the product be used.  Scientific studies show that the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in natural waters have far exceeded the boundaries of the planet within which humanity can safely live and thrive. These substances leak mainly from excess fertilizers used in agriculture and from wastewater treatment plants.

Urine concentrates the highest amount of nitrogen and phosphorus, therefore “treating urine separately means reducing, in an intelligent and economic way, the quantity of pollutants released in the waters of the planet. Up to 80% of the nitrogen found in sewage could be removed from wastewater streams leading to a reduction in the resources used to operate water treatment plants,” says Harald Gründl, co-founder of EOOS.

The Austrian design studio worked closely with Laufen to develop save!, an innovative urine separation toilet that completely revolutionizes sustainable wastewater management. save! is an evolution of the Blue Diversion Toilet, designed by EOOS together with Eawag – the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology – that received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their entry in the Foundation’s Reinvent the Toilet Challenge.

The contribution of Laufen to the project has been fundamental, thanks to the deployment of expert technical know-how and the company’s advanced research and development centre. It is Laufen’s belief that it has a responsibility to provide products and solutions that improve the health and wellbeing of people and the planet. For this reason, the company is investing in this innovative idea and using its manufacturing capabilities to bring save! to the market  on an industrial scale.

save! is the first wall-hung, gravity flush toilet that passively separates urine from solids and flush water, while meeting all the latest European industry standards.   “We wanted to give up electrical connections and instead focused on the fall of urine. First, we had to properly understand how people urinate. We researched in several scientific texts, but we didn’t find anything. We therefore had to carry out experiments ourselves. Designers are used to making people sit on chairs to test their comfort and to understand how they sit and get up. But watching people as they urinate was something unthinkable. Our  idea was to record the flow of urine with a thermal device,” explains Harald Gründl. “We thus obtained images that documented the different types and intensities of the jet. It was really a research on the human factor. After acquiring more information on the topic, we wanted to find a solution that went beyond a mechanism or a valve system and we came across the principle of the teapot.”

EOOS created the innovative "Urine Trap", a technology that guides the flow of urine to a hidden drain using only surface tension. This system integrates perfectly within the toilet bowl, without being visible to the user. save!, therefore, functions as any other standard wall-hung WC, with no change to user behavior. According to Professor Tove Larsen of Eawag's Urban Water Management Department: "Wastewater management is crucial if we want to prevent catastrophic damage to rivers and oceans. save! represents a breakthrough in the search for effective and hygienic wastewater separation that is invisible to the end user. Finally, a perfect solution fit for the 21st century".