The state of public space, public buildings, and public infrastructure are real and important indicators of the role of design in the civic realm. In an attempt to re-imagine the design and therefore, the identity and image of public toilets, Rohan Chavan explores an innate spontaneity of small infrastructure in the urban domains.
India is home to a complex and dense urban landscape that is vastly challenged with insufficient, underdeveloped infrastructure or the complete lack thereof. A fundamental problem with most public facilities is that they are built to serve only their primary function. Architect Rohan Chavan believes that design in the public realm demands versatility. In an attempt to recreate the identity of the Indian public restroom, Rohan proposes multifunctional sanitation spaces in a variety of contexts.
Most often than not, the thought of going to a public toilet is unpleasant to say the least; it is avoided unless there is no way out. Visualising the washroom as a complementing facility with other public amenities such as community spaces and bus stops, is one way to create inclusive plans instead of designing stand-alone infrastructure. The fundamental layout of any public utility is attributed to its typology: whether it is based on gender or a demography, among other specifics. Many women resist using public restrooms owing to the disappointing conditions of the ones that already exist – they are unhygienic, unkempt, unsafe, uncomfortable, and grossly inadequate.
The Light Box
The form should follow a basic principle: it must be quickly identifiable in the urban landscape by its form and colour.
Rohan Chavan, RC Architects
The Light Box in Mumbai is a project that is conceptualised and built not just as a toilet, but inherently as a ‘restroom’ for women. Designed for Agasti, a social enterprise working on urban sanitation in Mumbai; The Light Box is unique in terms of both form and function. Beyond the obvious toilet blocks, equipped with an incinerator, mobile charging points, and a panic alarm, these restrooms aim to provide women a much needed safe, hygienic and social space in an urban landscape. The 10’ X 30’ restroom has been designed around an existing tree for two reasons – primarily to integrate nature and context into the built form and secondly, the shade of the tree allows for filtered light. As a result, during the day, natural light permeates into the box and at night, the box illuminates the surroundings. The centre of the restroom is a 15’ X 10’ garden that is used for various activities – a place to rest, a gallery to display art, a place for discussion and awareness campaigns.
For us, providing a safe environment for women was as important as providing hygienic toilets. We have created space for an ATM and are looking to collaborate with banks that can provide this facility along with a security guard to make these restrooms more secure.
Sahej Mantri, Agasti: A Sustainable Toilet Project
Toilet in a Courtyard
Extending this idea to another typology, Toilet in a Courtyard is designed as an addition to the heritage precinct of the Bandra Railway Station. Housed under a contemporary Mangalore-tiled roof, the material palette and structural components are governed by the existing concourse. Centred around a beautiful papaya tree, the courtyard helps to contain a crowd during rush hours, and functions as an outlet for hot air and odour. Catering to both men and women, a brown perforated metal screen is used to identify different zones of the toilet, as well as to keep the interiors naturally ventilated throughout the day. With an acute understanding of the material palette and the details explored in the process of assembly, the restroom offers a climatically responsive environment for daily commuters.
Pause Restrooms
Situated in the urban peripheries of Mumbai, Rohan explores a unique restroom idea for truck drivers along the Mumbai-Goa highway. ‘Pause’ is a complex of public facilities with restrooms in a brightly-coloured complex. The building has multiple access points where each entry defines a separate facility. An independent women’s toilet is equipped with four toilet cubicles, a nursing station, sanitary-pad vending machine, and wash basins. The individual toilet blocks have a distinct architectural section where the wall along the common wash and urinals opens into a court for natural light and ventilation. Additionally, the complex houses a tuck shop, a barber’s salon, a resting space, Indian-style toilets with an additional space for laundry, a pantry, and ATM facilities. Driving unusually long hours without a halt, the facility aspires to provide truck drivers with an adequate environment to ‘pause’ before resuming the journey.
With nearly 70% of the total built up area open for various public activities and events, the Light Box is a cohesive plan that interacts with the city and vice versa. The Toilet in a Courtyard is a contemporary prototype that is responsive to a heritage precinct, and the Pause restroom is a complex of toilets with specifically identified ancillary facilities that enhance its accessibility and utility. While place-making forms the core of these layouts, a most notable aspect of the architecture is its spontaneous approach as a distinct intervention against an urban and peri-urban landscape thus bringing playfulness and design potential back to the public realm ⊗
ROHAN CHAVAN is an architect and planner based out of Mumbai. He is the Founder of RC Architects, a multidisciplinary design practice that engages with projects and issues related to public and community sanitation, urban design, affordable housing, single family houses, space design and institutions with sports and recreational facilities. His unique approach towards living patterns and bold style are the highlights of his design practice.
SAHEJ MANTRI is a development professional and sanitation specialist in the rural and urban sector. In 2015, he founded a non-profit called Agasti to provide urban sanitation solutions. In the last three years Agasti has designed, built and maintained public toilet models as well as provided low-cost sanitation facilities in urban informal settlements.
