Colorful Public Restrooms in Tokyo With Transparent Glass Walls That Become Opaque When Locked

The Nippon Foundation put out a call to 16 famous Japanese architects to renovate 17 public bathrooms for The Tokyo Toilet project. Each architect re-designed the space to be safer, non-gender specific in order to recognize and embrace diversity. They were also tasked with dispelling the common perception that public restrooms as being smelly scary places to be.

The Nippon Foundation is launching THE TOKYO TOILET project to build public toilets that can be used by anyone. The project will build new toilets at 17 locations in Shibuya, Tokyo, as a way of moving toward the realization of a society that embraces diversity. Three of the toilets will be made available for use by the general public from August 5.

The legendary Shigeru Ban remodeled the public restrooms at Yoyogi Fukamashi Park and at Haru-no-Ogawa Park with colorful transparent glass walls that immediately turn opaque once the door is locked. At night, each building lights up. The transparency lets people know if the bathroom is occupied and the colors make it beautiful.

There are two things we worry about when entering a public restroom, especially those located at a park. The first is cleanliness, and the second is whether anyone is inside. Using the latest technology, the exterior glass turns opaque when locked. This allows users to check the cleanliness and whether anyone is using the toilet from the outside. At night, the facility lights up the park like a beautiful lantern.