House of Toilet

Japan

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House of Toilet

Japan

Firm

Daigo Ishii + Future-scape Architects

Type

Hospitality + Sport › Wellness/Spa

YEAR

2013

SIZE

0 sqft - 1000 sqft

BUDGET

$100K - 500K

A public toilet of an isolated island for visitors and locals. The municipality asked for the novelty to call visitors as a tourist attraction and revitalize the island.

Periphery / Center
In this island, a toilet is in a cottage separated from the main house. The toilet is a peripheral space. The relation between the main house and the toilet resembles the relation between the main land and the island.
This architecture intends to change the peripheral space into the center to give intensity to the island regarded as a periphery and to exceed the locality though its design reflects the locality.

Locality / Internationality
According to the solar orientation at 9:00 a.m. on the day of three traditional ceremonies and summer and winter solstices, the slits of natural light pass in the building to clarify the locality.
The slits indicating the direction of the major cities of 6 continents from the island as the center in the world also overlay. While it suggests a connection with the world, it is also an expression of the locality because the point where six axes cross shows the coordinates of island. However, the locality shown in such way appears with different form from the original state. There, Locality / Internationality and Periphery / Center are no binominal confrontation but exist on a mutual extension.

Reflecting the scenery
The detail and the finish reflect the locality and the scenery of the island. However, those are not necessarily the same but the delicate difference is added to those. It is a device that suggests to visitors the island's landscape and make re-conscious of the island's identity to locals .
The roof's inclination and the exterior color resemble that of the local house. However, the wall and the roof is finished with the same material.
The alley between 3 buildings reflects that of the island like a maze and the motif of the alley's wall is a black burnt cedar board as a local finish. However, it gives a little different impression because it is covered with polycarbonate sheet to reflect the scenery.
The motif of the opening on the booth's ceiling where natural light and rain fall is a local well for having collected rainwater for the life until 30 years ago. They look up at the well which they always looked down, and this watering architecture connects with the well through the memory on the water.
Those are devices for suggesting the island's landscape for visitors and making re-conscious it for the locals.