Toilets of the World

Throughout the week, unsuspecting crowds in this corner of central London walk over what appears to be an oversized concrete manhole cover. On Thursdays at dusk the cover rises up Read the rest of this entry »

Hold on tight to the handle on the wall beside this squat toilet. When flushing, look down to catch a fleeting glimpse of the tracks below. The steel tray is standard issue on a Chinese train Read the rest of this entry »

Temporary toilet tents are erected using flashy pink silk reminiscent of the exquisite saris worn by the women of India. These have been set up for Khajuraho’s annual celebration of its ancient erotic temples. The two toilet tents emit the distinct smell of curry spices. The men’s contains a concrete slab with a small hole, placed over a dugout with two tiny footpads on either side. The women’s toilet is nothing more than a shallow indent in the ground.

Khajuraho main road
Khajuraho
Madhya Pradesh

Echoing the shape of the silo behind it, this conical white outhouse is made of corrugated steel. Silos are used for mass storage of grain throughout the year. The longdrop with its ventilation pipe is used by farmhands in the seasons when the silo is emptied, filled or maintained. These white structures contrast sharply with their vast surroundings of red and blue hues typical of rural Australia.

Calder Highway
Between Ouyen and Mittyack
Victoria

The South African government’s Reconstruction and Development Program is responsible for this impressive field of hundreds of toilets. With the intention of providing low cost housing Read the rest of this entry »

The collapsible toilet is a brilliant invention for those traveling to remote corners of the Australian outback. Jimmy’s Thunderbox™ folds up neatly into a flat square, light and easy to transport. When far from civilization and the need arises, simply dig a hole to place Jimmy’s Thunderbox™ over. It easily unfolds into a sturdy little toilet. Just like being in the comfort of your own home – well, almost.

Ouyen
Victoria

The world-renowned Austrian artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000) designed and oversaw the construction of these delightfully eccentric public toilets, situated on the main street of this small town. The toilets attract busloads of curious visitors. Perhaps these are the only toilets that are a tourist attraction not so much for their obvious purpose as for their unique design. Congruity is forgotten here as colourful curves meet unlikely combinations of tiles of all dimensions. The toilets are lit naturally through an odd array of coloured bottles cemented into the wall. The public toilets that put Kawakawa on the map were Hundertwasser’s final creation.

Gillies Street
Kawakawa
Bay of Islands

Shadowed by the world’s highest sand dunes, this simple wooden outhouse offers a breathtaking backdrop. The red dunes of the Namib Desert provide a stunning display as light, colour and shadow change by the minute. This solitary toilet bears witness to the constant movement of endless skies and shifting sands.

Dune 45
Sossusvlei
Namib Naukluft Park

Nestled in a gum tree grove, this toilet is located behind the village general store. During the monsoons, the red clay sand splashes up, creating a rich two-tone exterior. The panel propped against the entrance is typical of outhouse doors throughout southern Africa.

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The toilets in this popular nightclub glow with the eerie light of the back-lit glass walls on which these steel urinals are mounted. The modern design and mellow light inside these washrooms provide a relaxing haven from the throbbing chaos outside.

Kilimanjaro Nightclub
17 The High Street
Melrose Arch
Johannesburg
Gauteng