An advocacy group fighting for more public washrooms in downtown Toronto has launched a global design competition to gather ideas on how to conceptualize and implement a blueprint for readily accessible toilets across the city.
The competition — called “TO the Loo!” — is being organized by members of the Toronto Public Space Committee (TPSC) to combat the lack of available public washrooms.
Car Martin, a practicing architect in Toronto and one of the competition leads, said the costs the city incurs to construct and install a washroom, plus the additional finances for maintenance, are massive barriers in making the facilities more widespread.
“It’s such a basic human function, and when you take that away from public space, you make public space less accessible for everybody,” Martin told TorontoToday.
So, the public space advocate is counting on fresh ideas from creative thinkers to design a network of public washrooms that are affordable, sustainable and culturally inclusive. The best suggestions will be entered into a strategic plan for the city to consider.
Flushing out the problems
Martin argues that the lack of available washrooms in Toronto is an issue nobody is immune to.
From the student who buys a coffee at Starbucks just to use the washroom, to parents who can’t spend much time at the playground with their kids because there’s no access to a toilet, or the senior who has to carefully map out their walk because of incontinence issues — the scenarios are endless, they said.
While other major cities around the globe have made significant efforts in expanding and revolutionizing their public washrooms, Martin argues Toronto has fallen behind.
The pandemic exposed the problem and reignited conversations around accessibility when encampments began popping up at many area parks like Trinity Bellwoods, according to the architect.
“The housing crisis and the pandemic was pushing people out of shelters, and there were a lot of people going to the bathroom in the park,” Martin recalled. “There weren’t facilities, so it became a public issue at that time because unhoused people didn’t have access to washrooms, and it was leading to sanitation issues.”
Since then, the city has made investments in the public washroom realm. In 2021, city council approved a Washroom Enhancement Program that would allow washrooms in public parks to stay open in the winter months.
At the time, only 17 of the 187 standalone park washrooms maintained by the city’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation department were open year-round. As of last summer, there were 300 public washrooms operating year-round in Toronto, 64 of which could be found in city parks, according to the TPSC.
Despite these improvements, Martin argues it’s nowhere near enough.
“The city has put a little money aside for winterizing washrooms, but there’s no comprehensive strategy for making them more available in general. We’re really trying to highlight the issue so the city starts to take it seriously,” they said.
While most people can relate to the “I have to go” feeling while out in public, some are disproportionately affected by the issue.
For those who live with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease, for example, Martin said the desire to venture around Toronto can be hindered — which often leads to feelings of isolation.
“I live with Crohn’s, and it really does affect the way you navigate public space — you have to plan things out in advance,” they said. “There’s a lot of different health conditions that make having access to a bathroom really important.”
Reimagining the public washroom
Making washrooms accessible within five to ten minutes of walking distance anywhere in the city is Martin’s overall goal, but traditional ideas about what public washrooms can be have been holding planners back from achieving this in Toronto, they argued.
“We’re talking to the city on breaking down assumptions about washrooms, like how they’re unsafe spaces or have security issues. We can show how they can be safe spaces through design, and there’s a lot of work that’s already been done,” Martin said.
They said there are many cities around the world, including ones in Canada, that have been developing strategies that make the facilities cleaner and safer.
Martin points to a washroom toolkit that was developed in Vancouver that aims to prevent overdoses. By limiting obstacles, implementing safety features like emergency call bells and adding signage that highlights where the nearest overdose prevention sites are located, west coast advocates are attempting to make washrooms safer.
Other concepts, like paying full-time attendants to regularly clean and monitor washrooms in Edmonton and Calgary, have been found to reduce the maintenance costs over a long period of time.
“Overdoses are going to happen anywhere. If there are more washrooms, we can design them in a way where hopefully people will be safer — both people who are using drugs and people who are not,” they added.
A city like Tokyo, which is internationally renowned for its stunning designer toilets and public washrooms, proves that the spaces don’t have to just be functional — but can be beautiful and aesthetically pleasing as well, Martin said.
However, some critics on social media questioned why the TPSC is spending time and resources on running the competition to produce the best bathroom design, when the organization could perhaps take the best ideas from other cities and implement a concept that works for Toronto.
But Martin said it’s not that easy.
“You can’t copy and paste. Any architect will tell you: our culture, and our environment, are unique in Canada. We’re a diverse city. People use spaces of hygiene in different ways. We’re different from every other place,” they said.
Competition for best toilets is underway
The TO the Loo competition is seeking designs for one single-user washroom that’s flexible for installation at multiple sites, as well as one multi-user hub washroom sited at Dufferin King Parkette.
The washrooms should be flexible enough to be sited across a large and diverse city, from urban to suburban centres, according to the TPSC.
“We’d like to see people play around with ideas and show how we can make it affordable, feasible and have washrooms that are beautiful and a joy to use,” Martin explained. “We encourage people to think beyond these super functional utilitarian things and think about how they can be really inspiring.”
Entrants who finish in the top three will receive a cash award, have their work published in Toronto's Spacing Magazine and be showcased in a public exhibition this summer.
First prize is $1,500, while second and third-place prizes are $500 each. Participants have until May 27 to register and submit their design. An entry fee of $25 is required.
Judging of the entries will be based on functionality, accessibility, safety, weather-proofing and aesthetics, the TPSC said.
“Given the global threats we’re facing, the establishment of a much more robust public realm allows everybody to participate more on a local level, and that’s really important in this climate,” Martin said.
