Cinema and a kiosk inside a public toilet

Miles Pennington, from the DLX Design Lab at the University of Tokyo, created a unique and multifunctional structure that transcends the traditional notion of public restrooms in urban areas

According to this article, Miles Pennington, a designer, created a multipurpose public restroom in Tokyo along with DLX Design Lab. Pennington is a professor of design-led innovation at the University of Tokyo. It’s a space that may be used for a variety of things, such as exhibitions, a cinema, pop-up shops, and information centers, with the goal of improving the concept of a public restroom.

“Public toilets are often underused, lose their value to people, and are gradually forgotten”, Pennington said. “To try to reverse this trend, we created this toilet”. The project is one of 17 public restrooms throughout the city that were created as part of the Tokyo Toilet initiative, which is supported by the nonprofit Nippon Foundation. Some of the restrooms were created by Shigeru Ban, Tadao Ando, and Fumiko Maki.

The project is a multifaceted white volume that is located at the crossroads of three streets in the Hatagaya neighborhood. It has a covered “square” in the middle, with the actual bathrooms arranged all around it. The color choice of white is useful for showcasing artwork and movies, enticing visitors to use the space in various ways, and fostering creativity.

For a space that is continuously changing, a seating system in the middle ensures flexibility and dynamism. Metal columns set into the floor can be pulled out and connected with the wooden seats to create different combinations. On the other hand, the restrooms are situated within three triangular constructions that are reachable from both the interior and the exterior of this urban, dynamic design.