Public toilets: The design, history and politics of who gets to go
5/25/202627 min
‘The sewer is the conscience of the city’, or so the French writer Victor Hugo once claimed. It’s a confronting idea, but a revealing one: the way a society deals with waste can tell us a lot about its values, priorities and politics. And yet our toilet habits are something we’re usually taught to ignore, avoid or feel embarrassed about. We look at one everyday object that sits right at the intersection of design, morality and public life: the public toilet. Used by everyone, discussed by few, and designed very differently across cultures and centuries, it turns out the humble loo has a lot to say about who we are.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Anthony Burke· Host0:05
[door creaking] Right. [door closing] [clears throat] A bit of privacy. [upbeat music] Now, um, [clears throat] we don't usually start the show in here, but it felt appropriate 'cause this humble cubicle, slightly echoey, faintly questionable, is part of a much bigger story: public toilets. They tell a surprisingly rich history about design culture and how we live together. Right now, I don't need you for this next bit. Just mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yep. Okay, hang on. Is this still on? Well... [toilet flushing] Public toilets, where they exist, weren't always for everyone.
Olivia Meikle· Guest0:58
Public toilets are for men, and women are not allowed and would never dream of using them. It is actually mostly a very conscious social choice that was intended and, and spoken about as a way to make sure women are tied to the home.
Anthony Burke· Host1:17
And now that story is shifting, not just socially, but visually, as public toilets are reimagined through design here and around the world.
John Choi· Guest1:27
We have seen over my career