See through loos – Japan – ech2o newsletter snippet

In Japan there are, apparently, two concerns with public toilets, especially those located in parks. The first is whether it is clean inside, and the second is that no one is secretly waiting inside. These loos, that turn opaque once the doors are locked, addresses the first issue in a fun way.

Opened as part of the Tokyo Toilet Project they are just one of several different designs for public conveniences, all by leading architects. As Rose George writes in a follow up article   “Tokyo’s public toilets may be transparent – but at least they’re building some.” An important point given the fact that in the UK 979 public toilets have been closed since 2010.