Washroom in the Woods

1-10 October 2022

Multi-purpose Hall, 3/F, City Gallery, Central, Hong Kong

Co-organised by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and Architectural Services Department

In response to an open call to reimagine and innovate public toilet facilities, landscape designer Justin Lam and I designed a prototype based on hypothetical site specifications.

Washroom in the Woods is a contemporary interpretation of the toilet as a utility of repose and public health.

• The modular design is characterised by an extensive canopy structure and replicable composite wooden panels of different sizes, simulating an urban jungle that regenerates by photosynthesis and enlivens its users.

• The solar terrace roof, with its unconventional grid pattern, casts delightful shadows at different times of day.

• The metal tree-like columns provide nature-looking shelter and transform radiation to produce alternative energy for toilet facilities. The columns can also serve as space-efficient bicycle racks along cycling tracks, reminiscent of bicycle parking by trees.

• The toilet is fully equipped and accessible by users with special needs, incorporating male and female toilets, accessible toilets, universal toilets, toilet attendant rooms, and ancillary facilities.

• A cover made of L-shaped composite wooden panels extends from the roof to the exterior for additional privacy. The cover is also vegetated with easy-growing, scented climbers that clear odour and moderate moisture in the toilet, while forming a remarkable feature wall.

• Outside the toilet, the spacious area is an ideal location to promote civic education. Benches are widely spaced, such that the vicinity functions as a pocket park where users can stay, and as a healing landscape for the public to enjoy amenities despite social distancing in times of health crisis.