Tag Archive for: urinal

power toilets public art by superflex washbasins, sinks

Power Toilets: Because we’re all the same inside (the restroom)

in /by

This proves even the most powerful people can’t feel secure anywhere! Working from secret photos taken of what must be one of the world’s most closely-guarded loos, the Danish group SUPERFLEX has created the installation Power Toilets, which lets us envision the movements of global movers and shakers. We can see that the decor is quite minimalist; surprising (or maybe not!)

From the SUPERFLEX website,

Power Toilets is a copy of the toilets used by the members of the UN Security Council in the UN Headquarter, New York. The UN building was the result of the collaborative efforts of a multinational team of leading architects. When completed in 1952, it stood as a symbol of unity after the Second World War and has since hosted many historic aspirations, speeches, debates and gatherings of world leaders.

Based on photos taken secretly, the interior of the Power Toilets is identical in detail to that of the sanitary facilities at one of the most secure buildings in the world. Bathers and canoeists at the Park van Luna are now free to use the same toilets as the world’s most powerful leaders. The interior design is typical to the 1950’s including a lot of marble, steel and the iconic American Standard appliances. The exterior has a neutral nondescript shape like it was cut out of the UN-building in New York and moved intact to this new development in Noord-Holland.

power toilets public art by SUPERFLEX: urinals

power toilets public art by superflex washbasins, sinks

Art Lovers: Urine for An Unusual Sight

in /by

Art you can use…if you dare! The most interesting thing about this 2005 installation is that it was a fully functional facility, “open to both sexes.” Thanks to Brian Banks for alerting us to American Standard by Vancouver, Canada artist Reece Terris. (Matchmaking opportunity! Reece, there may be a perfect-fit project waiting for you in Toronto!)

From the artist’s website www.reeceterris.com,

American Standard is an installation that featured fifteen functional urinals arranged in a pyramid formation on the wall of the men’s washroom in the Alexander Centre studio at Simon Fraser University.  Transforming the facility into a public indoor fountain, water overflowed from the uppermost urinal and splashed its way down through the formation creating a deluge of water flooding the sunken floor. Visitors enter the space via tiled stepping stones, providing access directly to the sink and preexisting toilet, leaving the facility fully functional and open to both sexes.

At the same page, don’t miss the embedded video which includes the installation in action; this does the work far better justice than these still photos.)

Art to Go: Creative Toilets and Urinals

in /by

From Now That’s Nifty, a blog that earns it’s name with their post of Unique and Strange Toilets and Urinals. Check out the post to see them all, but here are a few that will leverage robust, innovative solutions for “doing your business.”

Here, you can go with vertigo! The trompe l’oeil mural at this Japanese ski resort toilet leaves you on the edge of your seat!

There will always be a market for creations such as this lime-colored art loo. Because, recession or not, there will always be affluent people who simply MUST have something different. (This is not a pipe.)

If I owned this breathtaking object, just like guest towels and good china, I would forbid anyone but “company” from using it.

Here is a “mouth” urinal. Worth nothing: due to gender preferences, I assume, there are no coordinating “mouth” toilets.