TopicEducation & trainingAwarenessDevelopmentDesignSafety and securityGender related statisticsWomen needs in transport New technologiesParticipation culturePolicy making
Description text
In our design review meetings we discuss a wide variety of topics and this week the UK team has been delving deep into the user experience of public toilets, or loo’s.
We thought this was a good opportunity to look into the subject from the multiple perspectives of our partner hubs and see if we can design a better solution.
It has been discussed on a variety of media channels weeks (see links below) and we are interested to see whether we can define the ideal way to provide this vital service, whilst addressing the needs for inclusion and safety.
It is clear that there is a real need to increase the numbers of accessible public loo’s; something that Caroline Criado-Perez talks about in her book Invisible Women. Women spend almost twice as long in the loo than men. And it’s also similar for anyone with a dependent child/adult or who has additional needs. There’s an American movement (excuse the pun) called potty parity, so clearly we need more loos!!
We think there is a long way to go to get a design that works with the shape of real people, that is suitable to existing infrastructure and the make the user experience more than satisfactory. But, before we can do that we need to know your thoughts and experiences – there is a much better solution, and we plan to set a summer design brief that we will showcase here on the OIP.
Ciao,segnalo di progettare i bagni con il fasciatoio anche nei servizi maschili, oppure come locale con doppio accesso dal lato maschile e femminile. In Italia ho visto il fasciatoio nel bagno maschile solo all'Ikea.
Da poco sono stata in vacanza in una nota struttura ricettiva veneta e, sia in un ristorante interno al centro vacanze, sia nei bagni della struttura, il fasciatoio c'era solo nei servizi femminili. Inoltre ai bagni per i bimbi, con docce , lavandini ecc a misura di bimb* si accedeva solo dal lato femminile. Il tema mi interessa anche nell'ambito del progetto "L'officina dei papà" e ne ho parlato qui https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ketty-fava-659ba17b_lofficina-dei-pap%C3%A0-il-laboratorio-activity-6816394569031159808-4n2GN
Promuovo anche l'idea di mappe interattive delle città/quartieri con la localizzazione dei servizi che hanno il fasciatoio, per agevolare i genitori. Infine vorrei si segnalassero e recensissero positivamente quei luoghi /strutture ecc che permettono di cambiare un bambino anche nei servizi maschili. Anche questo contribuisce alla cultura della parità.
It's well known in building design that women's toilets take up more space than men's so in the same floor space there will be less cubicles for women to use. Therefore we queue for longer to use the toilet, we need longer time in the cubicle and that's ebfore we are travelling with small children who we will often need to assist to use them too.
The points I think need addressing
Why can't we have a wash basin in the cubicle ? This should be standard for all toilet cubicles!
Somewhere to leave a bag or a fold down ledge/seat for a small child to wait in the cubicle with us. Bag theft occurs when handbags are left on the floor where there are gaps at the bottom of the door
Positioning of sanitary bins - we need them close but not brushing our thigh! Could they be wall mounted?
3 years ago