Public Toilets That Aren't Crappy

The British used to take immense pride in their public toilets--before the 20th century, they were known as the best in the world. Today? Not so much. So RIBA--the Royal Institute of Architects--and the BBC's Today program asked five of local talents to revive "the great British public toilet." According to RIBA:

Whilst the architects have come up with some very innovative and playful ideas, the underlying message about the lack of decent toilet provision is a very real issue. Report after report confirms that today's public toilets are significantly blighted by poor design and poor maintenance, resulting in unsanitary facilities, anti-social behaviour and vandalism.

People's lives are directly affected by the lack of public toilet provision: findings from Help the Aged's 2006 report "Nowhere to Go" show that people do not readily leave their homes without the reassurance that they will have access to public toilets. This means that 12% of older people feel trapped in their own home and about 100,000 never go out. Disabled people and their carers, those with chronic health problems, and carers with young children also lack the freedom to leave their homes without adequate toilet facilities being available.

Yikes! Who knew.

Two of the designs caught our eye.

The first is by FAT, who are among the zaniest architects working today. They proposed a toilet housed in an enormous piece of public art--in this case, an enormous bust of Hercules lying on its side. As they write, "The sculpture itself is conceived as a humorous antidote to the miserable and terrifying concrete...of our miserly public toilet provision. [Hercules] will inspire those who enter to conjure up whatever strength they require to complete their transactions within." (They've also got a thing for Hercules--recently they produced the brilliantly silly "Soft Hercules" stool, which looks like a classical bust but is actually soft and cushy.)

The second design comes from Will Alsop, who recently topped our list of the Most Creative People in Architecture. Maybe it's not the prettiest design, but it does solve some unique problems in a very elegant way. Pointing out that public toilets are usually dank and smelly, he proposed one that lifts up to let you in. That makes the space open and fresh when not in use. The shroud would be lightweight, while the fixtures themselves would be made of concrete, to blend in with the street. Though would anyone really want to see a toilet sitting out in the open?

You can view the other three entries at Arch Daily or on the RIBA Web site.