▪TYPES OF PUBLIC TOILET: MACRO- LEVEL STUDY

2.2 TYPES OF PUBLIC TOILET: MACRO-LEVEL STUDY

The sanitation and infrastructure in our cities and villages are always imagined as architectural systems. This unit teaches that public toilets should be seen as an integral component of city planning, and not as an add-on provided with little consideration of the spatial, social, or design aspects of the city. It describes the typologies of the public toilet in society. There are a total of 10 types of the public toilet which are given as follows :

1) THE PORTABLE TOILET: Portable toilets are designed as an infrastructure for large-scale public gatherings, events, and festivals, or in case of extreme emergencies such as natural calamities, etc. These toilets are designed as a kit of parts that can be easily assembled within ten minutes. Each toilet block is modular in nature and can multiply to form various configurations for a large number of visitors. The toilets are self-sufficient in nature and can be recharged by a plug-in-van. The plug-invan can empty the sludge, recharge the water, and wash the wall fabric. The toilet can be dismantled

into a small compact space. This compact stacking will allow a greater number of toilets to be accommodated within a truck, making it easier for transportation to the event site.

2) BUS STOP TOILET: This is a typology for bus stops that accommodate toilet facilities for the commuters. The bus stop is designed in the form of a sweeping ferrocement roof that cantilevers from the ferrocement core block. The roof lifts itself in the direction of the bus arrival and also houses

seating underneath. The toilet is housed in the ferrocement core. The bus stop toilet is an automated toilet or E-toilet. This E-toilet is a self-monitored facility that works by inserting a one rupee coin. The toilet also has automatic flushing and a deep cleansing mechanism that does not require monitoring. The bus stop also houses a drinking water fountain and a food vending machine. The sloping roof collects the rainwater in an underground tank that can be reused for the operation of the toilet.

FIG 8 .. the portable toilet

FIG 9.. the bus stop toilet

3) THE RAILWAY TOILET: The public toilets at a railway station are always located abruptly along with the platform, where they obstruct the commuter’s movement. The project looks at the structural system of the staircase that leads people to the crossover bridges as a potential site for accommodating toilets. The structure of the staircase currently is in the form of multiple columns that makes the underneath space residual and unusable. The project introduces a new structural system for the staircases in the form of a high spanning steel arch, that, within itself houses the toilets for the commuters. The

space of the steel arch is designed like a steel skeleton with infill panels of stained glass to enable good ventilation and privacy at the same time. The skeleton also incorporates drinking water and food vending dispensers to facilitate the commuters.

4) THE PAVEMENT TOILET: This typology of a public toilet is designed for pedestrian travelers that are not included within the radius of toilets built in the amenities, railway and bus stop toilet plots. They are a street toilet typology for the floating population and do not require a special plot reservation. The typology is a simple section, where the toilet is placed under the pavement, while the public program of the toilet is placed above the pavement as a street furniture pavilion. A pavilion with seating and a tessellated roof, together, behaves as a marker for the pedestrians using the pavement. Two flights of stairs descend into a sunken courtyard with a tree, . Each toilet block too has a small sunken court that brings sufficient natural light and ventilation inside the toilet. Each toilet cubicle opens up to a line of vegetation at the back.

FIG 10.. the railway toilet

FIG 11.. the pavement toilet

5) THE HIGHWAY TOILET: The project attempts to develop a typology of public toilets for highways. In order to facilitate the travellers, the project is designed as a refreshing facility with amenities such as an ATM machine, free WIFI, bathing, changing rooms, mobile charging station, changing station for mothers with infants and a sanitary napkin dispenser. The project scoops out a central void within the toilet block to form an arrival and waiting plaza. The key issue concerning toilet is the odour, which is a result of poor maintenance and lack of natural light and ventilation. This project develops a modular skin which, through its geometry, enables continuous natural light and ventilation within the toilet block. The skin is made up of triangular prefabricated modules that can be mass produced and put together through dry construction.

FIG 12.. the highway toilet

6) THE URBAN TOILET : This project attempts to address public toilets that are built on plots reserved for amenities. This typology will be the main toilet block for public spaces and cater to a large volume of people. The project releases half of its plot as a triangular plaza, as a spill out field for a large number of people visiting the toilet. The rest of the triangle is designed as a large concrete roof that forms a column free space beneath. An independent concrete skin wraps around the triangular space, to enable privacy, natural light and ventilation. The thick roof also houses a series of skylights that illuminate the toilet through the day. The roof integrates solar system that generates electricity for the toilets. The toilet uses pyrolysis to convert the solid waste into electricity, manure and recycled water. It offers other facilities such as a refreshing room, gender neutral toilets and a changing station for infants.

FIG 13.. the urban toilet

7) THE COMMUNITY TOILET: This project attempts to imagine sanitation infrastructure within informal settlements as community spaces. Generally, the toilets are designed as utilitarian spaces where human waste is disposed, hence, they are always in a state of neglect and poor hygiene.

This project proposes a hybrid typology of the public toilet, where, the mundane infrastructure is merged with a space for children to play, for women to gather and a space for festivals. The hybrid section houses an amphitheatre above and toilet block underneath. Through the amphitheatre and vachanalaya, the building marries itself with the city and community. Informal settlements have limited resources for construction of public toilets. This project adopts low cost brick construction techniques that can involve the locals. The building is designed as a brick screen, that allows the toilet to breathe.

FIG 14.. the community toilet

8) THE ANGANWADI TOILET: Anganwadi is a mother and child health care centre that takes care of their health, nourishment and immunization. Their everyday activities include contraceptive counselling, supply, nutrition education and supplementation, and pre-school activities. The public toilets for Anganwadi are part of this complex. This rammed earth building is organised around a central courtyard, which becomes a vibrant meeting space for women, mothers and children visiting this complex. All the programs are housed within the cascading levels under a large bamboo roof. The square enveloping the building houses a vegetable garden, waste segregation, manure making cell and two wheeler parking. The building uses locally available rammed earth for construction with steel support members.

FIG 15.. the anganwadi toilet

9) THE PARK TOILET: This toilet typology rethinks the public toilet model for open spaces, parks, gardens,playgrounds and maidans. In parks and open spaces, the toilets are generally located along the edge of the park and behave like a wall in between the park and the city. This toilet is designed to behave as an interface between the open space and the city. The section, in the form of a wooden skeleton, morphs along the edge of the open space to release a stepped seating plaza, entrance gate and a bicycle stand. The toilet is articulated beneath this morphing plane, at the entrance gate to allow movement from inside as well as outside of the park. The solid waste is recycled through the assembly of an anaerobic tank and reed bed, through the process of bio degradation. The process produces bio gas and recycled water that could be used for gardening and flushing within the toilet.

FIG 16.. the park toilet

10)THE WOMEN’S TOILET: This project addresses the sanitation model for women in the rural parts of the country. It is a holistic model, which accommodates public toilets, bathing units, water collection spaces, washing platforms and a drying yard. Along with sanitation programs the project introduces a gathering and work space for women’s cooperative that can run the facility and develop welfare programs for local women. The project develops around a water harvesting tank that collects, purifies and circulates the water to different parts of the building. The building takes the form of a step well that cascades down towards the water tank. A stone arcade envelopes the water bodies at different levels to

house all the functions. RCC construction

is expensive in the rural setups, hence, loadbearing stone construction is adopted to utilise locally available materials and craftsmanship.

FIG 17.. the women’s toilet

2.3 DISCARDED URBAN WASTE

Differently from nature city as a living organism do not reuse everything it produces. Materials enter the city on daily basis as products and leave as a waste in the landfill. The issue of waste is especially arising in the consumption driven societies and will increase with a growing population in later years. With rapid urbanisation, the country is facing massive waste management challenge. Over 377 million urban people live in 7,935 towns and cities and generate 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per annum. Only 43 million tonnes (MT) of the waste is collected, 11.9 MT is treated and 31 MT is dumped in landfill sites. Solid Waste Management (SWM) is one among the basic essential services provided by municipal authorities in the country to keep urban centres clean. However, almost all municipal authorities deposit solid waste at a dump yard within or outside the city haphazardly. Experts believe that India is following a flawed system of waste disposal and management.

FIG.18.. most recyclable waste ends up in a dump yad due to the lack of proper waste management (picture of a dump yard)