When public restrooms become art, cities become museums. Those are the words of architect Makoto Tanijiri, who has designed a new public restroom in Sendagaya, right next to the new Tokyo National Stadium.
Located immediately outside Tokyo’s Sendagaya Station, the new public restroom is designed to look like a giant block of levitating concrete, a visual contradiction that creates intrigue and inquisition. The 50 cm (20 in) gap between the ground and wall inform passerbys of the activity, or lack thereof, within the restroom. Skylights on the ceiling allow light to filter in and off of the tactile walls.
The public restroom is located right outside the the new Tokyo National Stadium. Both were meant to greet visitors during the opening of the 2020 Summer Olympics, which had to be postponed due to the global pandemic.
February 8, 2021 at 3:12 pm
What a wonderful article! Depending on where you live in the USA…and perhaps your age–we older folks often think about where the next bathroom could be! Traveling thru the South we can (or before Covid closed them down) always expect to find a McDonald’s Restaurant on the road and their restrooms are always clean with plenty of toilet paper! Living in the city, like San Francisco, one cannot easily find the next public restroom. It is an item of great concern especially when traveling. “When public restrooms become art, cities become museums.”
Rather, “When restooms become public and easily found the world becomes a friendly place.”
But thank you Tanijiri-san!