When it comes to toilets, nobody does them quite like Japan. Often times equipped with lights, multiple settings, and remote controls with more buttons than most modern day television remotes, Japan looks at toilets as a symbol of its world-renowned hospitality culture.
But even in Japan, the stigma surrounding public toilets exists; they can be dirty, stinky, and a place where one wants to spend as little time as possible. But now, thanks to The Tokyo Toilet project, 16 designers and architects from around the world are redesigning 17 public toilet locations throughout Shibuya to make it a much more pleasant experience when nature calls away from home.
Five toilet locations, including two from Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban, have already opened on July 31 and Aug. 7. Shigeru Ban’s designs, located in Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park and Haru-No-Ogawa Community Park, feature an all glass design that allows people to see from the outside if the restroom is clean, as well as if anyone is currently inside. Once a stall is locked, the glass turns opaque. At night, the restrooms light up like lanterns in the park.
Yoyogi Fukamachi mini park clear glass.
Yoyogi Fukamachi mini park opaque glass.
The restroom located in Ebisu East Park, designed by architect Fumihiko Maki, functions as both a public restroom and as a public space that serves as a park pavilion equipped with a rest area. A fourth restroom, located in Higashi Sanchome and designed by product designer Nao Tamura, features a completely red exterior with a design inspired by Origata, a traditional Japanese method of decorative wrapping. The restroom includes three separate spaces to redefine the way a public bathroom establishes personal space.
Ebisu East Park.
The fifth restroom, located in Ebisu Park and designed by interior designer Masamichi Katayama/Wonderwall, takes its inspiration from a Kawaya, a hut that stood over a river. The purposefully ambiguous space is simultaneously an object and a toilet by randomly combining 15 concrete walls. The spaces between the walls lead users into three different areas designed for men, women, and everyone.
All of the facilities will be maintained by the Nippon Foundation, the Shibuya City Government, and the Shibuya Tourism Association. The remaining facilities are tentatively scheduled to open between Sept. 7, 2020 and the end of 2021.
Higasi Sanchome.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023
2022 Religious Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. religious facility construction sector
HOK, Parkhill, KPFF, Shawmut Design and Construction, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest religious facility sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023
2022 Justice Facility Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. justice facility/public safety sector
Stantec, DLR Group, Turner Construction, STO Building Group, AECOM, and Dewberry top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms for justice facility/public safety buildings work, including correctional facilities, fire stations, jails, police stations, and prisons, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023
2022 Parking Structure Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. parking structure sector
Choate Parking Consultants, Walker Consultants, Kimley-Horn, PCL, and Balfour Beatty top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest parking structure sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Market Data | Feb 6, 2023
Nonresidential construction spending dips 0.5% in December 2022
National nonresidential construction spending decreased by 0.5% in December, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $943.5 billion for the month.
Giants 400 | Feb 3, 2023
Top Workplace/Interior Fitout Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Firms for 2022
Gensler, Interior Architects, AECOM, STO Building Group, and CBRE top the ranking of the nation's largest workplace/interior fitout architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 3, 2023
HUD unveils report to help multifamily housing developers overcome barriers to offsite construction
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the National Institute of Building Sciences and MOD X, has released the Offsite Construction for Housing: Research Roadmap, a strategic report that presents the key knowledge gaps and research needs to overcome the barriers and challenges to offsite construction.
Steel Buildings | Feb 3, 2023
Top 10 structural steel building projects for 2023
A Mies van der Rohe-designed art and architecture school at Indiana University and Morphosis Architects' Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, Calif., are among 10 projects to win IDEAS² Awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 2, 2023
St. Louis’s first transit-oriented multifamily development opens in historic Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood
St. Louis’s first major transit-oriented, multi-family development recently opened with 287 apartments available for rent. The $71 million Expo at Forest Park project includes a network of pathways to accommodate many modes of transportation including ride share, the region’s Metro Transit system, a trolley line, pedestrian traffic, automobiles, and bike traffic on the 7-mile St. Vincent Greenway Trail.
Giants 400 | Feb 2, 2023
2022 Convention Center Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. convention and conference facilities sector
Clark Group, EUA, KPFF, Populous, TVS, and Walter P Moore top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest convention and conference facilities architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 1, 2023
Step(1) housing: A new approach to sheltering unhoused people in Redwood City, Calif.
A novel solution to homelessness will open soon in Redwood City, Calif. The compact residential campus employs modular units to create individual sleeping units, most with private bathrooms. The 240 units of housing will be accompanied by shared services and community spaces. Instead of the congregate dorm-style shelters found in many U.S. cities, this approach gives each resident a private, lockable, conditioned sleeping space.
