Throned : Dignity to a Necessity

The idea behind the design and participation in this Competition was to think of a way to provide Dignity to the Necessity of Human Race, irrespective of Caste, Gender, Age,... Using a Public Toilet is a human right and should be designed so as to provide dignity and cater to the aspects of sanitation as it would be taken care of in our private realm.

The Image of a Public Toilet in the Indian Society still creates shivers in my spine , it is a Horror Story which better be re-scripted. The Sulabh Shauchalay Scheme has been successful in some ways to bring dignity to this ablution requirement. But still needs lot of work to publicly being accepted as the acceptable built environment.

Hence, when this challenge was put across in this competition, it gave an opportunity to put our ideas across as a designer and how we can contribute to the better living space.

The Idea germinated from the latest launch of the Japanese Transparent Public toilets , which are getting mixed responses. The design begins with exploring the possibility of having not the complete transparent toilet design.. but to create one wall transparent so as to create the sense of safety in the women users. It is also possible to make this transparent wall opaque , when some activity is being undertaken.

The Cluster of 5 Toilets have different accesses with Universal accessibility guidelines in place. The Toilet walls are made of recycled Plastic except for the one wall of Glass with Opacity potential. This wall works on a simple principle.. the glass turns opaque at the breaking of the circuit of the current and becomes transparent on connecting again. 

The roof has embedded Solar Panels and Collectors for Rainwater Collection, which can be stored and reused in the toilets. The portion below the Toilet seat has a bio-digester so that this entire unit is off grid and sustainable.

The interior of the toilet is as per specifications provided and has all the provisions in design to be universally accessible. The Wash Basin is also connected to a collection point which treats and re-uses this water as well. In terms of aesthetics, the attempt has been to make a transparent facade for safety of the users and also blending with the surrounding landscape.

The site selected is the stretch between Sion Station and Dharavi, Mumbai where there is a lack of Public Utility facility and women especially have to search for a dignified location for this necessity to be performed. The Future of this design is tremendous if accepted.. it can be scaled up and created as a cluster which is unobtrusive to the eye but at the same time offering a place of dignity.

The Design has come out after at least 10 iterations ranging from round shape toilet design  to underground design which comes above ground at the click of a button to a completely transparent options as in Japan. The intention of organisation of this particular method of layout which is a staggered type is simple.. to give privacy to the user as well as create a sense of safety by the proximity of all these units together. At an Urban Level, we think that this design will be accepted over a period of time and will gel with the surroundings in which it is made.

Some references:

1.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1_x-6SLWA4

Transparent Public Toilets in SHIBUYA TOKYO - WHY would they make it SEE-THROUGH

2.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_6DfedKqWU&t=3s

Smartglass Can Fade From Translucent To Opaque In A Second

3.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16o1oSKz-aI

The waterless toilet that turns human waste into energy | Virginia Gardiner | TEDxBrixton

4.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV-1To9DkJQ

Constructing an ecosan toilet -- A film from UNICEF

Questions we tried to answer through our project Of Throned : Dignity to a Necessity

What was the concept behind the project?

● What was the intent behind the organization of elements across various levels (Architectural, Site,

Urban)?

● How many iterations were tried to arrive at the final outcome?

● Which methods of design investigation?

● How was the programme condensed into final?

● What/How were the materials chosen?

● How was a specific objective attempted to be met?

● What is the expansion plan of the project?

● How will the project transform with the passing time?