The Tokyo Toilet project expands to include Nigo's friendly house-shaped public toilet in the Harajuku district of central Tokyo. Designed to stand out from the surrounding high-rise buildings, Nigo explains that "the toilet may feel nostalgic to some and new to others, depending on their age and generation."
The restroom is designed to feel like home. It stands quietly and unassumingly on a street corner as a contrast amidst the ever0changing city. Informed by the Washington Heights Dependent Housing, the public toilets are covered with a pitched roof, reminiscent of the single-storey homes built in the area by the United States Armed Forces post-World War II. Thus, the goal of the design is to learn from the past.
House-Shaped Restrooms
The Tokyo Toilet Project Expands to Into the Harajuku District
Trend Themes
1. Nostalgic Restrooms - Designing public restrooms to resemble homely architecture offers unique user-experiences that feel nostalgic and comforting.
2. Unique Public Restrooms - Public restrooms are important in dense urban cities, thus designing unique and visually appealing restrooms, such as those with house-shaped architecture, offer a differentiated and memorable experience.
3. Reviving Traditional Architecture - By incorporating traditional architectural styles in public restrooms, like pitch-roofed designs that draw from US post WWII architecture, we can create visually striking architectural landmarks that revive a sense of history.
Industry Implications
1. Architecture - Architects can leverage traditional designs to create visually striking public restrooms in dense urban cities.
2. Tourism - Incorporating visually striking public restrooms in tourist-friendly locations can enhance the tourist experience and become a key part of the tourist destination's identity.
3. Municipalities - Municipalities can enhance their public infrastructure by prioritizing the design and implementation of visually stunning public restrooms that are functional for all.