Public Toilet Design: From Hotels, Bars, Restaurants, Cviv Buildings and Businesses Worldwide

A really well-designed public toilet is a rare and welcome discovery. It adds greatly to the impression made on a building's users -- whether in a restaurant, mall, airport or hotel. And, in the case of public toilets in parks and streets, a clean and aesthetically pleasant public toilet leaves the user with a positive opinion of the city as a whole. For much of the 20th century, "cheap and durable" was the rule. That trend is changing.

Public Toilet Design presents the best projects made in the last two years, worldwide. There are more than 50 public spaces shown, with the "facilities" well integrated into good design.

There are more than 600 full-color photographs. Each project is accompanied by plans and detailed descriptions that show the transformation of the public toilet as its planning, development and construction took shape over the last few years.

It includes:

• History and evolution of the public toilet
• Places of leisure: restaurants, bars, clubs, malls, gyms, theatres, museums, stadiums
• Commuting spaces: airports, train stations, boats, rest areas
• Public residences: hotels, spas, geriatric residences
• Work areas: banks, offices, public administrations
• Materials and accessories used
• Ergonomics: adaptations of the elderly, handicapped, and diaper-changing stations

Public Toilet Design is for architects, designers, public administrators, restaurant owners and other proprietors of publicly used space -- anyone wanting to give their clients a better impression where it is keenly noticed.

Cristina del Valle Schuster is an author whose most recent book examined interior design trends in restaurants and bars.