THESE TRANSPARENT GLASS WALLS TOILETS DESIGNED BY SHIGERU BAN ARE A PART OF THE TOKYO TOILET PROJECT THAT COLLABORATED WITH 16 JAPANESE AND INTERNATIONAL DESIGNERS TO COME UP WITH PUBLIC TOILET DESIGNS FOR OTHER PUBLIC PARKS AROUND TOKYO
TEXT: SUTEE NAKARAKORNKUL
PHOTO: SATOSHI NAGARE
(For Thai, press here)
What would be the last resort that you would settle for when you’re facing a bathroom emergency? For some, the desperate need forces them to give in to a poorly lit, smelly, and painfully unhygienic public toilet, particularly the ones in public parks or gas stations that makes one feel like they were in a scene from a horror movie or even a battlefield, a comparison which may be more suitable for the more dramatic folks.
The public toilet in Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park
There’s no doubt that the issue isn’t exclusive to Thailand. In the middle of July of 2020, The Tokyo Toilet Project opened two public toilets, one at Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park and the other inside Haru-No-Ogawa Community Park in Shibuya, Tokyo. The project has Shigeru Ban, Japan-born-and-raised 2004’s Pritzker Prize winner, as its designer.
What’s particularly interesting about the toilet is the transparent glass walls that automatically change and become opaque once it is being used. Ban’s use of such transparent materials for the wall gives users the assurance that the toilets are clean and safe without anyone with bad intentions waiting inside. The light from the restrooms illuminated at night time also serves as a beautiful lighting source for the nearby area.
The public toilet at Haru-No-Ogawa Community Park in a night time
Apart from Shigeru Ban, The Tokyo Toilet Project, a project initiated by the non-profit organizations the Nippon Foundation, has collaborated with 16 Japanese and international designers to come up with toilet designs for other public parks around Tokyo. Many of them will be situated near children’s playgrounds to help maintain children’s hygiene, especially during the time when the pandemic is still very much active.