Skip to 3:21 to view the accessible toilet.
The Japanese are probably the leading authority when it comes to toilet technology, however, even the Japanese have a distaste for using public conveniences and often categorise them in one of four ways - Dark, Dirty, Smelly or Scary. Based on that premise the city of Tokyo launched an initiative to come up with a toileting solution and this is the winning design. The clear appearance is hoped to give users the confidence to enter, knowing that it is clean, bright and that there is no other person lurking inside. We're not exactly sure how they have overcome the problem of smells!
When we watched the video and went to look specifically at the accessible toilet, we were disappointed that the innovative thinking had not extended beyond the usual non-universal design of accessibility which is very often a barrier which we face. The cubicle looks space age and has a drop-down grab rail, but nothing centralised to allow for transfer on either side. There is also a changing table for babies, but nothing for older children or adults. When so much thought had gone into the concept, we feel that the designers really missed out on making these unique toilets really groundbreaking.
Post Tags: accessible, toilets, japan, tokyo, Public Toilets, Accessible Toilets, Opaque, Clear, See through,
Post Categories: Places Information
