Brand & Interesting Facts
|01/01/1970
We’ve reported on the Nippon Foundation’s Tokyo Toilet Project in past blog posts. Now, we’ll take a look at three more of these fascinating public toilets: “WHITE” by Kashiwa Sato, “A Walk in the Woods” by Kengo Kuma and “Amayadori” by Tadao Ando – prominent names in the worlds of architecture and design. Let’s take a closer look at their ideas and sources of inspiration in designing these public toilets.
When Kashiwa Sato his team visited several of the Tokyo Toilet Project facilities that have already been completed, they noticed that they all embodied different qualities depending on their places. He and his team used white precisely because it was different.
The main objectives of the project at the Ebisu Station West Exit were to bring together cleanliness, safety, harmony and the diversity found in society. As a place where many people walk past every day, it was important that the toilet not be too conspicuous as such. It blends unobtrusively into the background while being clean and safe.
The building has a façade consisting of white louvres. These provide privacy for the users as well as good ventilation for a comfortable experience. Kashiwa Sato chose the colour white to convey a sense of cleanliness and brighten up the station’s atmosphere.
When designing “WHITE”, Kashiwa Sato and his team paid attention to every detail that would be at home in every public toilet. The pure white toilet was designed to make the people who use it feel comfortable and refreshed.
Instead of having one large box-like building, Kengo Kuma decided to build five different toilet huts and connect them with a forest path when designing “A Walk in the Woods”. The reason behind this decision was to keep the toilet installation from disturbing the nature of Nabeshima Shoto Park.
Inspired by the peaceful setting in Nabeshima Shoto Park, the design concept intended to bring nature back to the city. The exteriors of the huts are covered with eared Yoshino cedar board louvres to give visitors the feeling of being in the forest. Wood plays an essential role in the design and was chosen to convey Japan’s culture of trees to the world.
Dividing each section into separate buildings creates a “public toilet village” that is open, breezy and easy to pass through – a design appropriate for post-pandemic times. The pathway connecting the huts was designed to run along the existing slope of the park to make it feel like a natural mountain path.
The toilet village in Nabeshima Shoto Park shows how architecture can be integrated harmoniously into natural surroundings. It respects nature while creating a comfortable, inclusive space for everyone.
Japan is world-renowned for its beauty, cleanliness and courtesy. Its toilets are among the things that embody those qualities. In his travels around the world, Tadao Ando has never experienced toilets that give a sense of beauty, hygiene and a feeling of respect toward the user like the toilets in Japan. Natural ventilation is an important factor related to this beauty and cleanliness.
Since ancient times, ventilation has been taken into consideration when designing buildings because of Japan’s high humidity. The deep eaves and external corridors in the traditional architecture of both houses and temples are designed for ventilation. At the same time, ventilation is said to be one of the keys to preventing infectious diseases today.
The exterior of the cylindrical building consists of vertical louvers to provide sunlight and ventilation for the interior. Tadao Ando tried to create an atmosphere where people can feel comfortable and safe. The large, protruding eaves protect people when it rains. The round shape should allow everyone to use it freely and without restrictions.
Tadao Ando hopes that the public toilet in Jingu-Dori Park will also function as a place where people can take refuge when they have a problem, and that it will be a place that has value for everyone.
What do you think?
( 0 comments )
Share
