Beneath the M1 highway overlooking Newtown, two vibrant little structures became the focus of attention on Wednesday when the City of Johannesburg launched what it calls ”the best seats in town”.
Enclosed in bright yellow and purple, pod-like buildings — one on Mary Fitzgerald Square and another next to the Market Theatre — the ”seats” in question are silver, cone shaped and flush at the press of a button.
”When nature calls, the city answers,” rang the words on the invitation to the launch.
And that the city did. Building the two new public toilet blocks in the inner city, at a cost of about R2-million, was its way of offering ”dignified relief” to ordinary citizens, mayoral councillor Ruby Mathang told the Mail & Guardian Online.
”We are convinced that the ability to freely enjoy our public spaces, with dignity and ease, as afforded by the opening of these public ablutions today, is firmly part of this overall effort,” he said.
No effort was spared in the toilets’ design and construction by the Johannesburg Development Agency. Although they were more expensive to erect than other public ablutions, in the long run they will be easier and cheaper to maintain, Mathang said. ”The material used is of very high quality … It’s not expensive compared to what it offers.”
Chris Kroese of Gap Architects, which designed the structure, said their egg-shaped design is ”more efficient” than the conventional box shape of other public toilets, which he called ”drab and uninspiring”. Artists may even in future be commissioned to decorate the exteriors.
”We thought for this to fulfil its public and civic function it had to be an uplifting experience [to use the facilities],” he said. ”The pod shape looks moveable … it looks like it moved along and found a place in the city.”
With entrances on both sides, the building splits into separate facilities for men and women. The only doors are to the entrances of the individual stalls, and there are no windows: instead of using mechanical ventilation, a length of steel mesh across the top of the building enables light and air to flow through the space.
The women’s toilets comprise eight stalls and five basins, and the men’s three stalls, five urinals and five basins — a limited number, agreed Mathang. ”We need more and more and more [toilets like these in the city].”
Inside, the focus is on functionality, with black, white and silver tiles; minimal steel fittings; and cone-shaped basins and toilets. The taps shut off automatically and the toilets have built-on moon-shaped seats, all to deter vandals.
”We tried to make them as vandal-proof as possible; there are no flap-up seats, and there is very little that can be intentionally damaged,” Kroese said.
The entire plumbing system is contained within the centre of the structure, as another precaution against vandalism and to maintain the clean look of the building’s exterior.
”The building is designed to be hard-wearing and robust, easy to manage and maintain … and introduces architectural detail which fits into the surrounding heritage context,” the JDA explained in a press statement.
”Just in its very shape there is something African about it,” Kroese said. ”It’s a modernist interpretation of what Africa would be like. It is a huge leap from other [public toilets] that exist, but people are responding quite positively.”
Mathang agreed. ”It’s very comfortable, beautiful and easy to use. It’s very appealing; it’s even more beautiful than my toilet at home,” he laughed. ”If I’m around the city centre, I’ll use it.”