urban outhouse
critic: Burdette Keeland

GIVEN - The program asks for a phenomenological translation of the traditional outhouse to a prototype suitable for the urban context of New York City. The initial site would be the sidewalk next to the horse carriages in Grand Army Plaza in front of New York’s Plaza Hotel.
(NON-)CONTEXT - The provision of a specific site typically calls for a contextual solution. However, since it is stated the solution must be suitable for mass production and that placement on the site should be quick and simple, the most successful solution would be inherently non-contextual. Emphasis is placed on the tectonic and spatial investigations of an architectural object.
EXOSKELETON - The stainless steel exoskeleton provides a framework for the unit’s interlinking components. A machine analogy is adopted as the operating aesthetic principle. All components of the unit are bolted into the exoskeleton (Plexiglas advertising wall, air circulator, all fixtures, etc.), as well as the stainless steel skin that is bolted to the inside of the structure, leaving the structure exposed. The symbolic appropriation of the machine is overcome by virtue that the beauty of the object is produced through the elegance of the technical solution.
PRIVATE / PUBLIC REALM - A thin sheet of 3/16” sheet metal is all that distances the private from the public realm. The thin-ness of the material suggests an almost voyeuristic sensibility given that the unit would be placed on heavily trafficked sidewalks around large metropolitan cities. On the other hand, the opaqueness of the metal denotes a strong sense of enclosure. The variety of attendant readings provided by the tactility of the material reveals the ritual by pushing the certainty of the units function to its limits.
PLEXIGLAS ADVERTISING WALL - A programmatic necessity, the Plexiglas advertising wall provides a guaranteed level of economic stability for the unit. Like the streamlined products of Raymond Loewy, the wall “centers around consumption in contrast to production, as the rest of the unit supports a rhythmic cycle of ingestion and waste: a process of elimination” (Lupton and Miller). The wall is constructed of a single piece of Plexiglas bolted to a pair of curved steel angles that are held 1.54 meters apart by two perpendicular steel angles. This assembly is held in place by four “Macpherson” struts. The translucency of the Plexiglas allows light to permeate the wall. Thus, as the wall wraps around the rear walls of the structure, it not so much conceals as it protects the delicate plumbing and hardware apparatus. The similarities of the Plexiglas advertising wall to a riot shield are not coincidental.
AIR CIRCULATOR / LUMINOUS INDUCTION FLAP - The canted, metal sheathed, box truss houses all mechanical systems for lighting, venting and temperature stabilization. The air circulator is comprised of a blower motor, heater and air conditioning unit, as well as the necessary intake and exhaust registers. As air is constantly flushed through the tilted duct, the air circulator is expressive of its purpose through visible means. The luminous induction flap is a steel framed armature with a transparent Plexiglas lens that diffuses the light cast from lamps housed within the cavity of the air circulator assembly. The luminous induction flap also serves as a spatial modulator, defining the more intimate space of the unit.
COIN SLOT / TIMER MECHANISM - The term “public toilet” is a misnomer. It is a fact in capitalistic societies that buildings are built not so much to include as to exclude certain undesirable segments of the population lacking economic means. The public toilet is no exception to this rule. Entry to the unit is gained via a coin slot on the outside that buys a certain amount of time (which can be extended through a corresponding coin slot on the inside of the unit). The timer activates an automatic door closer and lock on the door hatch. As noted on a recent segment of the “20/20” news magazine show, transients have learned they can disrupt the process by jamming the door shut. In the true capitalist spirit, their ingenious entrepreneurial endeavor should be applauded.