Public toilets and gender: Case studies by BKK

Geelong Ring Road Rest Areas (2013)

Timothy Moore: What defined the brief for the Geelong Ring Road Rest Areas? Was safety a big driver?

Simon Knott: The issues raised by the client (VicRoads) focused largely on the isolated nature of the rest facilities. Because of their isolation, these roadside facilities can attract a high degree of vandalism, undesirable activities (depending on who you are) such as sexual practices, and the risk of sexual assault, exposure or observation. Other significant safety issues include driver fatigue, provision for rest and general driver safety. The availability of these types of facilities can have a demonstrable impact on road toll and accident numbers because they can encourage drivers to stop and pause on their journey. This is particularly important when the road acts as part of a bypass, meaning that drivers are less likely to stop in town.

Siting was largely driven by road configuration and traffic movements, although carpark placement and other activities were sited to provide passive surveillance. The central aisle entry was designed to focus activity and provide a more secure entry sequence that aligns with picnic tables.

TM: The ventilation towers take prominence on the approach. What is the concept behind their treatment?

SK: In our design, the use of pink and blue spires was an amplification of the binary understanding of gender in society at the time. A church-spire form acts as a wayfinding device similar to the medieval spires of Italian piazzas, but it is also a humorous comment on the importance of the toilet or outhouse in Australian culture. The combination of toilet block and church spire offers the possibility for multiple interpretations. The “spire” also serves as a ventilation tower to avoid having mechanically ventilated toilets.

TM: Would a similar design outcome be reached today?

SK: I would say it’s a case of different time, different agenda. There’s no way the client would have built non-gendered toilets back then. I’m not sure we would have pushed for gender-neutral toilets then, either, although we were using them in other situations, such as in hospitality projects.

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The Dandenong Public City Park Amenities includes gender-neutral toilets and a high degree of visual accessibility.

Image: Derek Swalwell

Dandenong Public City Park Amenities (2019)

TM: How did the park setting for the Dandenong project influence its design?

SK: At the Dandenong Public City Park Amenities, the primary visual axis of the amenities block runs through the centre of Dandenong Park from the city’s urban centre. The main safety concerns in the design brief focused on sightlines and the opportunity for potential assailers to conceal themselves around or inside the amenities block. Anecdotally, the client (Greater Dandenong City Council) reported problems in the park, including antisocial behaviour and vandalism. For these reasons, the cubicles open directly onto the park, with no secondary handwashing area (an arrangement that is more typical of a previous generation of park amenities).

TM: What prompted the curvilinear exterior walls?

SK: The concept of the project presents a universal idea of enclosure and shelter. The design appears as a hollowed-out tree with a sheltering canopy propped inside this shell. Round skylights provide illumination during the day. The exterior shell needed to be illuminated at night, both as a beacon and for safety.

TM: What are the implications of this concept in responding to safety?

SK: In plan, the curved shell wall eliminated corners – corners being a concern for passive surveillance – while in elevation, the gentle inward slope of the walls created a much more approachable form than vertical walls, and increased the open-ness and visual accessibility around the perimeter of the amenities block.