by The 15th Tokyo Toilet by Miles Pennington
The Tokyo toiletThe 15th project of was launched on February 22nd in Hatagaya, Shibuya Tokyoand its design dusts off and is just one Toilet for public use. Miles Pennington and the University of Tokyo’s DLX Design Lab envision The Tokyo Toilet in more ways than one, as the design is inspired by a camera’s viewfinder with its large entrance sheltering visitors in its corner.
Such an expansive area is designed throughout for multipurpose uses such as an outdoor cinema, boutique stalls and a recreational playground for people of all ages and business owners of various types. The 15th Tokyo toilet presents itself as a new meeting point. A semi-circular chain of wooden seats comfortably accommodates visitors who want to rest for a while after a long walk or who just want to sit after visiting the public restroom.
The sense of community ties in with the seat shape, which forms a loop, and the spacing is large enough to allow respectable individual distances between visitors. At the time of the story’s publication, the opening of the 15th Tokyo toilet to the public is still ongoing, but its construction has been completed and is more than ready to let visitors in.
all images and header video© designboom
Above the communal seating, lightbulbs in silver housings shine in a white glow at night to illuminate the space. The white hue bathes the space to highlight the highly visible bathroom signs plastered on the automatic doors. To play with the color palettes, the design team overlaid the back of Tokyo’s 15th toilet with a shade of gray to mimic the buildings and streets surrounding the public toilet.
The toilets are hidden in one of the three triangular toilets enclosed behind the walls. The automatic doors slide open when the visitor clicks the button found before entering the bathrooms. Inside, they are greeted by a silver-clad toilet environment, punctuated by the white accents of the toilet, sink, and rails. Here the design team continues with the white color to liven up the surroundings.
Image © designboom
Multi-purpose toilet and venue for all
The Tokyo toiletMiles Pennington and the DLX design lab encourage the creative use of public space by transforming their community project into a variety of multipurpose offerings. A projector can be installed on either the ceiling or the top of one of the walls to project films and shows onto the blank white wall, instantly transforming the shelter-like entrance into an al fresco cinematic experience.
Artists and curators who want to hang or tape their artworks for general viewing can even use the space and share the Tokyo 15th toilet for their creative endeavors. Thanks to the white color over the interior, a sense of brightness follows and flows, creating a visible environment to avoid eyestrain or an atmosphere that is too dark.
Boutiques and stalls can also join the display trolley, as the ample floor space ensures that potential buyers and passers-by want to view the items on sale. Food trucks also seem a possibility, and if visitors have had too many snacks or drinks, they don’t have to worry about crawling for a toilet to relieve themselves.
Image © designboom
Image © designboom
