toAllet

toilet bowl design concept for public unisex toilets

design research
inclusive design
product design

How to support the idea of implementing unisex toilets that promote gender inclusivity and equality and contribute to a more accepting and diverse society?

How to design a toilet bowl that resonates with unisex use?

How can the unisex toilet be designed so that it can be easily maintained and cleaned for all users?

"When we talk about liveable cities, and when we talk about accessibility, what we're talking about, in part, is public bathrooms."

(Lezlie Lowe, author of No Place to Go:
How Public Toilets Fail our Private Needs)

Unisex public toilets, also called gender inclusive, gender neutral and mixed, are key places that encourage inclusivity and universality, welcome differences and meet the needs of modern society. The design concept of the toAllet toilet bowl was conceived in such a way that it

corresponds to its characteristic requirements - the shell is designed so that it can be used in many different ways depending on the occasion defecation would not come into contact with the body and to facilitate the maintenance of personal hygiene space.

Demands for the concept:

- promoting inclusiveness, universality, and diversity

- meeting the needs of modern society, which include taking account of:
1. People with physical limitations, i.e., disabilities, disabled and obese people
2. Transgender persons
3. Fathers with children
4. Potty parity (advocacy efforts and actual legislation that addresses the longer lines for women often seen at public restrooms)
5. Accompanying a person with disabilities of the opposite sex

Demands for the object:

- shape the bowl so that there is no contact with the body during urination

- easy access to water release buttons

- easy getting up after using it

- facilitate hygiene: facilitate cleaning, reduce the possibility of contamination of the external parts of the shell, reduce the possibility of retention of impurities and bacteria

/visualisation of the unisex public toilet space/

Elements of the final design:

- elongation
-no toilet seat
-sensor flushing
- hanging bowl
- rounded surfaces and edges
- dual flush mode (rimless and vortex)

Elongation

- elongation at the back of the bowl facilitates targeting throughout urination in a standing position and increases the total area of main “perforations,” which enables targeting during urination in a semi-squatting position

No toilet seat

- assuming that the vast majority of people do not sit on the toilet but stand or are in a semi-squat

- due to easier maintenance of hygiene and the possibility of additional reduction of the area around the "perforation."

- the sitting functionality is not deprived of the thickening at the place where the sitting bones adhere

Sensor flushing

- flush button with built-in sensor detects hand movement and automatically activates flush without contact, avoiding the spread of viruses and bacteria

Hanging bowl

- the choice of a hanging bowl instead of a floor one suggests easier maintenance of cleanliness due to the total smaller area (and thus fewer corners and perforations for accumulation of dust and dirt) and due to the space under it which remains easily accessible for cleaning

Rounded surfaces and edges

- round surfaces and edges retain less dirt than sharp ones

Dual flush mode

- with the help of two rinsing systems, the rinsing of the entire bowl is achieved

- these two systems are currently the best on the market in terms of hygiene, easy to maintain and there is minimal possibility of rusting bacteria and impurities (rimless and vortex)