The sound of a door closing. The atmosphere a certain product creates in its environment. The pleasing picture an item paints in the mind when it “clicks” with its surroundings.

For designer Norihiko Nagase, these are just some examples of intangible but important insights that designers can bring to the process of creating a product.

Nagase is Leader of the Design Group, Bathroom Development Department, Bathroom Division. He and his team have recently combined their deep understanding of bathing trends and societal and environmental needs to create “bathtope,” a new kind of bathroom space equipped with a foldable fabric bath.

From Insight to Innovation

Bathtope hopes to address some of these challenges – by designing products that are, from the outset, created with the needs of the consumer and the world around them in mind.

“For designers, it is important to explore a balanced distance between new ideas and current norms,” Nagase says. “By understanding social trends and the underlying culture, I am repeatedly generating ideas and re-editing, reframing, and visualizing them from a rough state.”

Taking inspiration from the traditional Japanese kimono and the paper-folding practice of origami, bathtope’s foldable bathtub is made from a single piece of soft polyester fabric and coated with polyurethane film for waterproofing. Five color options in a palette inspired by nature allow more choice, especially as the bath can be changed to suit different seasons or even moods.

When filled with water, the weight tightens the rope around the edge to create a stable and secure bath. After use, you can easily drain the water by opening the drain plug cap and, in a few simple steps, fold and store it away.

This allows for more efficient use of space, reducing water volume by about 26% compared to a conventional bathtub. Removing a fixed bath also creates the potential for the adjoining washroom area to be more spacious.

A Vision of the Future of Bathing

The development of bathtope – the name combines “bath” (Japanese bathing culture) and “biotope”, a place where diverse personalities coexist – was driven by its designers’ perspectives from the initial stages.

Nagase imagined a bathroom that breaks the fixed nature of traditional bathing spaces. He pictured people showering on busy weekdays but enjoying the snugness of a hammock-style bathtub on slower days, as if they were sunbathing or camping. If a bath could be removed and packed away, that would open up a host of possibilities for what that space could be used for. It’s a unique concept that has already earned bathtope a 2025 iF Design Award.

For architect Aki Hamada, who is among those who have so far used bathtope, those possibilities aren’t limited to inside the home. “Water-related products have traditionally been immovable,” he says. “bathtope holds the promise of being able to be used on outdoor terraces and other locations. This capability has the power to transform lifestyles. I have a feeling that architectural plans, which have been based on traditional bathrooms, might change as a result.”

It was confidence in this vision that helped Nagase his product from idea to reality. He says it is the first time he has developed a product that, right from the initial stages, was driven by the designer’s idea.

"Expectations are often set too high when starting new businesses. When you’re repeatedly conducting research to obtain evidence to support success, it is not uncommon for speed and motivation to wane," he adds. “For bathtope, we simplified that process and proceeded with the idea that releasing it to the market first, even on a small scale, would provide the best research.”

Creating Value Through an Entrepreneurial Culture

Nagase points out that this streamlined development process may not be suitable for all product development and that robust testing and feedback are a vital part of bringing any new product to market.

But for some new and innovative designs, it can help the product move through the initial development phases faster, while reducing potential losses to the company in the event of any setbacks.

"What hinders innovation is past success experiences,” adds Hiroyuki Oonishi, Executive Officer at LIXIL Water Technologies Japan. “Creativity cannot be born without resetting them. It is a kind of self-denial and very difficult – but the design-oriented approach can be one solution,” he adds.