Skip to main content

Tokyo installed see-through public toilets in a park to let people inspect their cleanliness before using them, at which point the glass turns opaque

* Two see-through bathrooms have been installed in public parks in Tokyo. * They are made from "smart glass" designed so people can see how clean they are inside before using them. The glass turns opaque when the bathroom is locked and in use. * The stalls are part of a project that is redoing 17 of the city's public bathrooms with different designers to make them more accessible and appealing. * The goal is to fight assumptions that public toilets are "are dark, dirty, smelly, and scary," said the nonprofit foundation behind the project. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Tokyo has installed two see-through bathroom facilities in public parks, allowing people to see how clean they are before deciding to use them, at which point they turn opaque. The bathrooms are made of colored "smart glass," which turns opaque when the stalls are locked, said Shigeru Ban, the architect behind the designs. You can see how it works here: "This allows users to check the cleanliness and whether anyone is using the toilet from the outside," he said. "At night, the facility lights up the park like a beautiful lantern." The bathrooms have been installed in two of the city's parks so far: the Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park and the Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park. The installations are part of The Tokyo Toilet project, which is redesigning 17 of the city's public bathrooms with different designers. The Tokyo Toilet Project: Pritzker Prize winners Shigeru Ban, Tadao Ando, Toyo Ito, and Fumihiko Maki among designers of new public restrooms https://t.co/UBs0VMwrNh pic.twitter.com/FhA0oQc6cW — Archinect (@archinect) August 17, 2020 The project was launched by The Nippon Foundation, a Japanese nonprofit that said it wanted "to build public toilets that can be used by anyone." It said all of the designs were "accessible for everyone regardless of gender, age, or disability, to demonstrate the possibilities of an inclusive society." The foundation said that Japan was known as one of the world's cleanest countries and that its public toilets were cleaner than most others around the world. "However, the use of public toilets in Japan is limited because of stereotypes that they are dark, dirty, smelly, and scary," the foundation said. "To dispel these misconceptions regarding public toilets, The Nippon Foundation has decided to renovate 17 public toilets located in Shibuya, Tokyo, in cooperation with the Shibuya City government," it said. The see-through facilities, along with some other designs, have been available for the public to use since August 5. Other designs include a stone building that is designed to look good in parks and a bathroom with spaces for "men, women, and everyone." Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Inside London during COVID-19 lockdown
https://bit.ly/3kV2yOG

Popular posts from this blog

A full breakdown of what channels you get with every Sling TV package, plus all the add-ons

  * Sling is one of the most affordable cord-cutting services on the market, offering two packages —  Orange and Blue — with 30+ channels starting at $30 a month or combined for $45 a month. * Orange offers the Disney Channel and ESPN, while Blue offers a slate of Fox channels, NBC, Bravo, and Discovery. Both Orange and Blue offer CNN, TBS, Food Network, and BBC America. * You can also add on multi-channel packages, like Sports Extras, Kids Extras, or News Extras, starting at $5 a month. Premium add-ons, like Showtime, Starz, and Epix, are also available for an additional monthly charge.  * If you're new to Sling TV, you can receive a free 14-day trial for a limited time. * Here's a complete breakdown of the channels offered on each Sling package.    If you're hoping to get the most bang for your buck once you cut the cord with your cable subscription, Sling is one of the most affordable live streaming services on the market.  The service has two packages with ...
Read more

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck London fintech Lanistar used to raise $19 million at a $190 million valuation

* London-based fintech startup Lanistar has raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Milaya Capital.  * Founded in 2019, Lanistar is building a personal financial management platform that will launch later in 2020.  * "We're expecting a huge amount of growth upon our launch and have already seen strong interest among our sign ups," Gurhan Kiziloz, founder and CEO of Lanistar, told Business Insider. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.  The coronavirus lockdown in the UK has brought the importance of managing money into sharp relief. A recent study from Money.com shows that 71% of UK households have saved cash during lockdown, and, with uncertainty about jobs and the economy looming, money management is now front of mind for many. Lanistar, a banking platform with a focus on personal finance, is one company offering tools for consumers to better manage their money. It has just raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Mil...
Read more

Why an early exec quit unicorn food delivery startup Deliveroo to launch a food business in the middle of a pandemic

* A former Deliveroo exec has launched a market food hall startup in the middle of COVID-19. * Dan Warne was managing director of the unicorn startup until 2019, but has now launched Sessions Market as a community food hall concept to rejuvenate UK towns after the pandemic. * Warne says he hopes to bring his experience from Deliveroo, particularly about customer behavior, to the analogue world of food halls. * The first venue, Shelter Hall on Brighton seafront, launches July 4. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. On Saturday, the UK's bars, restaurants, and cinemas will fling their doors open to customers for the first time since a strict lockdown commenced in late March. Given continued public health concerns around the coronavirus pandemic, it might be unwise to open a new food business right now. But Dan Warne, a former high-level executive at British unicorn startup Deliveroo, has launched Sessions Market, a series of community-orientated food hal...
Read more