Toyo Ito designs mushroom-shaped public toilets for Tokyo Toilet project

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Toyo Ito has unveiled a public bathroom in the shape of three mushrooms as part of the Tokyo Toilet project.  Ito’s contribution is the 11th toilet to open out of the 17 spread and planned across Tokyo’s Shibuya district. The unique bathroom is located at the bottom of a staircase that leads to the Yoyogi Hachimangu shrine. The toilet is split into three cylindrical structures topped with domed roofs that create a form reminiscent of the mushrooms found in the forest surrounding the shrine. The decision to create three separate buildings is also for the purpose of creating a space that has a high degree of security. The line of sight passes through the volumes, which makes the facility more inviting and calm. Replacing a pre-existing toilet, Ito’s project expands the space of each private room making them spacious enough to provide functions for elderly people and those with children. The functionalities are redistributed across both the men’s and w...