\n<\/p>\n
W<\/span>hy do we have so few public toilets in UK cities? It\u2019s hard to think of two more fundamental social needs than a) not being forced to relieve yourself on the street and b) not having other people relieve themselves on the street \u2013 yet the public toilet is an ignored and vanishing public amenity. The British Toilet Association reports that 40% of public toilets have <\/strong>closed since 2000 \u2013 Victorian facilities in particular attract developers, not least because their dignified buildings endure: solidly built, centrally located and still embedded in the daily flow of the city. When maintenance costs are high and councils are struggling, it is easy to convert a sturdy urinal into a fancy bar or flower shop that brings in rent.<\/p>\n Against this backdrop, a new wave of architects has begun to emerge who are reframing the problem and bringing new expression to the building type. They are supported by innovative councils and, sometimes, government grants. This may mark the start of a trend, driven by a convergence of conditions: growing public attention to access, the clear scarcity of toilet provision and a renewed sense of purpose within local authorities. These architects are emphasising not only public toilets\u2019 necessity, but also the potential for public luxury.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u2018Old technologies to suit a modern world.\u2019 Studio Weave\u2019s public toilets in Woolwich, London.<\/span> Photograph: Jim Stephenson<\/p>\n Some remarkable examples are in London. As director of Studio Weave, I\u2019ve overseen two new public toilet buildings in the past year \u2013 one in Woolwich and one in Maida Hill \u2013 funded by the boroughs of Greenwich and Westminster respectively. Both projects were championed by forward-thinking council officers and local politicians who recognise the importance of such facilities and their role in civic life. Greenwich was successful in securing backing from the Department for Levelling Up\u2019s Future High Streets Fund and, crucially, it was strongly supported during the public consultation. This meant that the council could ringfence spending on the public toilets, protecting them from overbearing cost-cutting measures.<\/p>\n As an architect who designs public buildings, I can tell you that quality materials and vision are key. In cities, you are often dealing with a complicated underground spaghetti of gas pipes, sewers and cables. You may have to negotiate with local authorities that have no obligation to cooperate. And you\u2019re working with Victorian infrastructure that almost never matches the drawings.<\/p>\n We have to build toilets that are safe \u2013 perhaps with passive surveillance from nearby businesses \u2013 but that respect users\u2019 dignity. We think about the way the doors open and who can see in and out, and we make sure there are no places to hide drugs or a knife. Our Woolwich toilets have high-quality traditional encaustic-tile flooring and oversized chimneys to enable passive ventilation \u2013 old technologies to suit a modern world. We like to incorporate shelter from the rain and sun, as well as drinking water and a place to sit down \u2013 those small public amenities that a council isn\u2019t obliged to provide but will find hard to take away once they are incorporated into a solid building. Sometimes, we are lucky enough to work with a council that has money and a longer vision: for our project at Finsbury Circus, the City of London set a 100-year design life, demanding much higher-quality materials than most contemporary public buildings make do with.<\/p>\n <\/span>DK-CM\u2019s Bruce Grove project, which has added a community room and cafe.<\/span> Photograph: Emily Marshall\/DK-CM Architects<\/p>\n Colleagues in contemporary architecture have produced similarly strong work: DK-CM\u2019s elegant refurbishment in Bruce Grove (for Haringey borough) and Hugh Broughton\u2019s civic design in Westminster are distinguished by their architectural quality and thoughtful integration into the city. The Bruce Grove project has added a new community room and cafe to what was a dilapidated old public toilet building. The Westminster architects commissioned an artist to evoke the character of the local area.<\/p>\n Delivering such projects means managing tight local authority budgets. It often requires cross-programming, such as adding cafes or storage facilities to offset maintenance costs through rent. These measures boost footfall, enhancing passive surveillance and therefore reducing antisocial behaviour. The result is a virtuous cycle: more users, less crime, less fear and ultimately even greater use.<\/p>\n Local politicians know that visible public provision wins votes, yet in most UK councils, funding remains scarce. The projects above relied on the Mayor\u2019s Fund, the Levelling Up Fund and small portions of local budgets \u2013 streams that have largely dried up. A bright civic future is therefore hard to imagine, even though investment in public toilets would probably pay for itself by revitalising public spaces and stimulating commercial activity.<\/p>\n However, change may be coming \u2013 the government is offering positive news in its Pride in Place strategy, which will offer funding specifically for public toilets to local authorities. Earlier this year, the London Assembly called on the government to make public toilets a statutory duty for local authorities. Perhaps the UK will follow the best practice of the Tokyo Toilet project, which brought talented architects to design safe, beautiful, accessible public restrooms \u2013 but also, importantly, has a well-funded maintenance programme. The project boasts that \u201ctoilets are a symbol of Japan\u2019s world-renowned hospitality culture\u201d \u2013 not a space that should be regarded as an afterthought or an embarrassment.<\/p>\n Good architects should embrace the complex challenges of designing public architecture, whether that be libraries, museums or public toilets. It is possible to approach all these typologies with the same rigour and belief that good architecture will improve people\u2019s lives. But this also requires political will. Ultimately, nothing is too good for the public. These buildings succeed not by hiding their function, but by dignifying it. They understand that good design doesn\u2019t just manage waste, it redeems it. A public toilet can express democracy \u2013 evidence that a city still believes in itself enough to provide for its most basic, universal needs.<\/p>\n It\u2019s public toilets or barbarism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why do we have so few public toilets in UK cities? It\u2019s hard to think of two more fundamental social needs than a) not being forced to relieve yourself on the street and b) not having other people relieve themselves on the street \u2013 yet the public toilet is an ignored and vanishing public amenity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[11169,336,1864,21704,1547,118,613,150,3508,3746,7134],"class_list":{"0":"post-40363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-issues","8":"tag-blake","9":"tag-british","10":"tag-caught","11":"tag-eddie","12":"tag-good","13":"tag-great","14":"tag-heres","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-revolution","17":"tag-short","18":"tag-toilet"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}