RESEARCH General Art

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Students redesign Laundromat so wash day is less of a chore

Melissa Mitchell, News Editor
(217) 333-5491; melissa@uiuc.edu

6/1/03

A team of graduate students redesigned a Laundromat with modular washers and dryers and a reconfigured floor plan that improved accessibility.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In recent years, consumers have benefited from a variety of innovations and improvements introduced by manufacturers of washers and dryers marketed for home use. But new wrinkles in the commercial laundry business haven’t been as forthcoming, according to William Bullock, a professor of industrial design and director of the Product Interaction Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"Commercial Laundromat facilities haven’t changed much in years," said Bullock, who assigned a team of graduate students with the task of redesigning one, with consulting assistance from designers and marketing personnel from Maytag Corp. During finals week in May, students shifted their focus from product research and design to spin cycle, presenting their ideas for what they envision as "the Starbucks of Laundromats" to Maytag representatives. Main factors students took into account in their redesign were ergonomics, sustainability, owner issues, workflow and task analysis.

Among the most noticeable features of the redesign are a reconfigured architectural footprint and modular washers and dryers designed to be more efficient and user-friendly. The bi-level, semi-cloverleaf-shaped floor plan offers improved accessibility over traditional layouts, where appliances typically are lined up in rows. Modular, front-loaded washers and dryers feature a tilted, oval "racetrack-style" design that eliminates the need for excessive bending and reaching by the user. The modular design also gives business owners the flexibility of installing machines with a variety of capacity levels and allows for the fast and easy removal of defective units. Other facility innovations include amenities, such as Internet access, and flexible, plastic laundry carts designed to streamline the process for transporting clothing.

Team member Frank Petlak said one of the group’s primary motivations was "to make the experience of going to the Laundromat more enjoyable." As part of their research, the students observed, surveyed and videotaped Laundromat customers in three Midwestern communities. Patrons indicated they preferred facilities that were safe and clean, with machines that were reliable and inexpensive to use. Their bottom line, Petlak said, was that "they wanted laundry day to be less of a chore."

While numerous technical kinks would need to be worked out of the students’ redesign before it would ever be commercially viable, Leo Yokel, Maytag’s director of commercial laundry marketing, was impressed with the results as well as the direction of the student project.

"We haven’t spent lots of time looking at consumer needs," Yokel said. "The consumer is the secondary target in the commercial laundry industry," which, he said, traditionally "has been more about making businesses profitable, with less thought on the people who use the products."
In addition to Petlak of Mount Prospect, Ill., the student design team included Sarah Buckius and Ling Kuai, Champaign, Ill.; and Mark Miller, Frankfort, Ill.