Back Issues - 1930s Space-saving

In the 1930s, magazines were enamoured with the latest in space-saving and fitted appliances, says Steve Parnell

In March 1935, Architectural Design and Construction (AD's forerunner) published a reference section on 'bathrooms fit to sing in'. The author mocks the newfangled appliances and asks 'where… is the automatic body washer?' The clipped accent of the nascent BBC's Queen's English almost echoes from the page: 'It would be quite simple – just a matter of rotating brushes, scurrying flannels, and self-lathering soap'. Imagine a bodywashing machine akin to a car wash sitting in the corner of the bathroom.
In the 1930s, the golden era of apartment buildings, the market became flooded with manufacturers offering sanitaryware of multiple uncoordinated sizes. The International Bath Association (IBA) was set up and called for standardisation to address these pressing problems. It worked: 'Even such tremendous trifles as tap heads and shields have not been overlooked, for to-day, instead of a minutely printed "hot" or "cold" on a tap head troubling the shortsighted bather, coloured Bakelite quickly identifies the taps.'
Where a fitted bathroom wasn't possible, space-saving gadgets were invented, culminating in Heath Robinson's 1936 book How to Live in a Flat. One such gadget actually marketed by the IBA in this issue of Architectural Design and Construction was the 'five purpose bath' (pictured left), which could
be used 'as a sitting bath for an adult or child, a wash basin for hand use or light laundry articles, a kitchen sink with draining board, a home laundry fully equipped with rubbing board and wringer, and a strong table for meals or kitchen use, ironing, pastry-making, etc.' Since then, of course, mechanisation has taken control, our time has become more valuable than our space, and we're all spoiled by independent baths, dishwashers, washing machines, tumble dryers and dining tables. All we need now is that automatic body washer...