The world's 10 best public toilets for 2015
#10 Centennial Park Amenities
Sydney, Australia
Design: Lahz Nimmo Architects
Location: Sydney, Australia
In areas of natural beauty such as parks, toilets can often be a bit of an unfortunate necessity. Design solutions vary, from making toilets that look like quaint little cottages to ones that are hidden by trees or underground. But when it came to designing public toilets for Centennial Park in Sidney, Lahz Nimmo Architects decided to take a more honest approach, relying on the principles of architecture to create a simple, modern building that doesn't detract from the natural beauty of the parkland.
The brief was to design a generic building which could be built throughout the Park with minimal adaptation.
The designers say: 'Building within Sydney's historic Centennial Park was a very sensitive issue; thus it was critical that the design deferred to the primacy of the landscape as well as the existing monuments and pavilions within the park.'
The male and female toilets are divided into two pavilions linked by a continuous roof. The space created between the pavilions acts as a central entry point to the amenities. The hand washbasins take the form of a polished concrete trough and are located in this central communal space providing a unique experience for the user to wash their hands and look out to the Park. This external communal room also provides a reassuring sense of security, surveillance and shelter during rain.