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The transparent public toilets by architect Shigeru Ban, winner of the Pritker Prize, turn opaque when in use.
At first, it’s hard to understand how a public restroom with transparent walls could possibly help ease restroom anxiety – but a counterintuitive design by one of Japan’s most innovative architects aims to do just that.
All over the world, public toilets have a bad reputation. Even in Japan, where toilets have a higher standard of hygiene than in much of the rest of the world, locals fear public toilets will be dark, dirty, smelly and scary.
To cure public phobia, the nonprofit Nippon Foundation launched “The Tokyo Toilet Project,” commissioning 16 renowned architects to renovate 17 public toilets located in public parks in Shibuya, one of the busiest shopping areas in Tokyo.
The mission was to apply an innovative design to make public toilets accessible to everyone, regardless of their gender, age or disability, with the aim “that people feel comfortable using these public toilets and to promote a spirit of hospitality for the next person, ”according to a statement from the Nippon Foundation.
The most talked about design so far comes from Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban, whose transparent toilets appeared this month in Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park and Yoyogi Mini-Park. Fukamachi.
Both units each have three cells, which are surrounded by cyan, lime green, blue, yellow, pink or purple tinted clear glass. The transparent design has a practical reason, which is to make it easy for a person to check inside before entering.
“There are two problems with public toilets, especially those located in parks,” says the Nippon Foundation, the non-profit organization. “The first is whether it is clean inside, and the second is that no one is secretly waiting inside.”
The design is based on new smartglass technology that makes the walls opaque when the door is locked. “At night, they light up parks like a beautiful lantern,” according to the Nippon Foundation.
In addition to the two facilities designed by Ban, “The Tokyo Toilet Project” also opened three other public toilets, created by interior designer Masamichi Katayama at Ebisu Park; The winner of the Pritzker Fumihiko Maki at Ebisu East Park; and New York-based furniture designer Nao Tamura near Ebisu station.
In the coming weeks, toilets will be opened by architect Takenosuke Sakakura at Nishihara Itchome Park and Tadao Ando, another Pritzker Prize winner, at Jingu-Dori Park. The rest of the renovations to the project are expected to open in spring 2021.
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