Here's an idea for a contemporary loft or a small space. These bathroom dividers at the Brew House Hotel (in Kent, UK) offer privacy without blocking out the light. Using Smart Glass technology, the walls go from transparent to opaque with the flip of a switch.
Smart Glass can be manufactured using a few different technologies, including liquid crystals and electrochromics. We found a good overview of the available technologies and how they work here. Companies that produce Smart Glass include LA-based SwitchLite, French company Saint-Gobain, and Minnesota-based Sage Electrochromics.
To see more of the glass bathrooms at the Brewhouse Hotel, check out their website here.
Photos: Brew House Hotel
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Ooo! Electrochromics are SO COOL. I learned about them years ago in school and keep hoping they'll get integrated into sunglasses and such. I'm glad to hear they're at least starting to come into the market as a product.
I don't get the advantage of being able to see through the walls into bathroom. If they just used frosted glass or rippled glass, then light could still enter the bathroom, or am I missing something? I think I'd rather control privacy to the outdoors with something like that.
I'm with kamilya. It would be way cooler to use this technology for windows. Besides, what is the advantage to a transparent bathroom wall, anyway? Why do I want to see the shower stall from the bed?
Wondering if I could use it to convert my alcove studio into a jr. 1 bedroom?
This glass lets in more light, when not opaque, than frosted or rippled glass, and is decidedly nicer and less dated than it's earlier counterparts!
I love this glass... for the Grand Designs enthusiasts out there, one of the episodes (http://tinyurl.com/ykco75e) featured a two-level house with the walls of the bedrooms made out of this same glass (to maximise light and sense of space, but give the bedroom inhabitants privacy when needed), and it worked really well. It is great to see it in a bigger context.
great job.