washrooms cleaning up
architecture | ryerson university by paul whelan
minimalism simplicity function sufficiency materiality
How do you remember the quality of a place? It is surprising how many people remember their experience of the washrooms. People routinely comment on the quality of washrooms in airports and theatres and even restaurant reviews will dwell on a high quality washroom experience. Quality comes from attending to the small and intimate. Nowhere is this more apparent than in washroom design. Kerr Hall at Ryerson University dates from the 1960’s and has the look and feel of a high school building. Ryerson wanted to upgrade the qualitative experience of the building by upgrading the washrooms. As a designer, when the entire project is the washroom you recalibrate the focus to a few simple ideas. The potency of small is that it’s like a short story – an entire world must be described as economically as possible. For this washroom that economy landed on material selection and a few strong formal moves. The selection of materials was based on a visceral reaction to the urine-stained floors and urine-coloured walls of the original washroom. Stantec Architecture decided to retain two materials – the terrazzo floor and the marble washroom partitions. The selection of a wall tile focussed on creating a sub-aqueous feeling using a rippled porcelain tile that recreates the illusion of water. The space was enriched by introducing white solid-surface walls at the entry and as a floating wall supporting the sinks. The room was opened up by dematerializing the corners using mirrors or back-painted glass. We deployed a standard sustainable array of low-flow fixtures, motion sensors for lighting, low-energy hand dryers and non-use of disposable paper towels. The faucets were particularly interesting as the hands-free sensors are battery-driven. The batteries are re- charged by a turbine that is driven by the faucet’s water flow. Thus we approached the holy grail of perpetual motion, or at least using ‘free’ power provided through municipal water pressure. Washrooms are a microcosm of the complexity of construction compressed into one small space. Just as there are many trades falling over each other in the construction of a washroom, so too there are many hands in a washroom design. v design: Stantec Architecture,Toronto: Deana Brown, Elika Herischi, Ted Boruta, Mitch Gregoire, Paul Whelan, Bill Burgoyne project manager: Dominic Magnone, Ryerson mechanical engineer: Julia Sacher electrical engineer: Michael Shiu contractor: Hope Birnie-Colbert, Compass Construction
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Small Things
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