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THE TOKYO TOILET, an initiative launched by the non-profit The Nippon Foundation to create save, clean, and appealing public restrooms throughout Tokyo's Shibuya ward, just completed its latest facility: Jingu-Dori Park, designed by Pritzker Prize laureate Tadao Ando, features a simple, functional... View full entry
Noteworthy Japanese architects, and even some Pritzker Prize laureates, are among the creators of 17 innovative public restroom designs throughout the bustling Shibuya area of Tokyo. Launched by the non-profit The Nippon Foundation, THE TOKYO TOILET project hopes to create save, clean, and... View full entry
The very first public toilets were introduced in 1851 in London’s Crystal Palace. George Jennings, a Brighton plumber, installed what he referred to as 'Monkey Closets' in the Retiring Rooms of the glass-and-iron hall for the Great Exhibition, where over 827,280 visitors paid a pretty penny to... View full entry
... instead of its standard Kohler toilet, it will have a solid 18-karat-gold working replica of one, a preposterously scatological apotheosis of wealth whose form is completed in its function: You could go into the restroom just to bask in its glow, Mr. Cattelan said, but it becomes an artwork only with someone sitting on it or standing over it, answering nature’s call. — nytimes.com
Maurizio Cattelan, an Italian artist who famously retired five years ago, has returned with a solid gold (and fully functioning) toilet for the Guggenheim Museum. Perfectly paired with the late Tobias Wong's Gold Pills. View full entry
Researchers at Cranfield University in the UK have created a prototype of a toilet that works without being connected to water or sewage systems, and that can generate electricity and clean water as it composts waste. [...]
The Nano Membrane Toilet, which has been developed with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, would be a kind of ‘super-toilet’, helping to improve sanitation for people without access to utilities – at present some 2.5 billion people around the world.
— globalconstructionreview.com
This is how the Nano Membrane Toilet works: "The toilet flush uses a unique rotating mechanism to transport the mixture into the toilet without demanding water whilst simultaneously blocking odour and the user’s view of the waste. Solids separation (faeces) is principally accomplished through... View full entry
But this year’s champion bathroom, crowned by voters on Cintas’ website, is not nestled inside some upscale restaurant in a major city. It’s a public restroom in Minturn, Colorado.
A collaboration between the town of Minturn, LaN Architecture’s Monika Wittig, LGM 3d Studios, and Noble Welding, the restrooms are meant to resemble a passageway into a Rocky Mountain mine. “The town rallied together and showed the value of a restroom that’s creative and memorable for guests,” [...].
— citylab.com
From the America's Best Restroom Contest website:Founded in 1904, Minturn is rich in mining history and its new public restrooms reflect its past. The unique digitally fabricated shape of the men’s and women’s restrooms resemble an adit (horizontal passage way) into a Rocky Mountain mine. The... View full entry
With the issues of serving openly in the military and same-sex marriage now largely resolved, the fight for all-gender restrooms has emerged as the latest civil rights issue in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (L.G.B.T.) community — particularly the “T” part.
Schools and universities (...), museums (...), restaurants (...) and even the White House (...) are recasting the traditional men’s/women’s room, resulting in a dizzying range of (often creative) signage and vocabulary.
— the New York Times
while the idea of a fully plumbed potty zooming up and down the sides of a Tokyo skyscraper may seem like Japanese technical ingenuity taken a step too far, in reality this idea is born of reasonable and sensible practical concerns. [...]
it remains likely that people will end up trapped in elevators if a large earthquake comes. [...]
Japan's elevator industry is among the most advanced in the world ... Its toilet industry also leads the world in technical advancements.
— washingtonpost.com
The below video (available in Japanese and English versions) shows off a version of a elevator-specific toilet:More elevator news:Installation of UltraRope elevators begins at Kingdom TowerIn case of fire, use elevatorsUp and Down, Side to Side; ThyssenKrupp's cable-free MULTI elevator to begin... View full entry
Oita, a medium-sized manufacturing city in the southwest of Japan, hopes to make its mark next summer as the host of the first Toilennale—an arts festival celebrating toilets. [...]
Tourism is the main focus of the art exhibit, but the Toilennale also promises to improve city services by renovating and beautifying bathrooms throughout downtown, beyond the 12 being turned into installations.
— qz.com
Is it too late for Koolhaas to include the Toilennale in the "toilets" Fundamentals tome?Get up to date on Venice Biennale news (toilet and non-toilet):Terri Peters' coverageRound-up of critical reactions from architectural publications View full entry
