Every traveler knows how the absence of a toilet nearby can spoil even the most interesting excursion. While tidy and comfortable toilets can hardly amaze modern tourists, many interior designers try to be creative in this area and make something truly one-of-a-kind. The International Toilet Tourism Award tries to detect and praise these restrooms, so travelers who visit certain destinations can come and see these pieces of designer art in person. The results of the 2018 award were announced this month.
This year’s winners are truly creative and include a mountaintop toilet inspired by James Bond, a forest-like toilet, and even a comfortable airport toilet for dogs. Many toilets from Europe, Asia, Northern America, and Australia participated in the contest this year. Judges used several parameters to rate them, including location, design, accessibility, quirkiness, and even economic contribution to local communities. Based on this, they detected six winners in different categories.
The toilet at the Saskatchewan Science Centre, Regina, Saskatchewan, in Canada won in the Best Design category. These are newly refurbished toilets that are located on the second floor of the complex. Their design is inspired by fabulous forests of northern Saskatchewan. This is an immersive restroom with visuals of a forest and stunning sounds of birds singing. All panels of the toilet are completely covered with detailed pictures of peaceful Canadian forests.
The Cummins Mosaic Loo, Cummins on the Eyre Peninsula in Australia is the winner in the Best Economic Contributor category. This loo was made by the local community, and it is definitely a place with its own character. In the past, it was an ordinary red brick toilet at a railway station that is now closed. Then local people decided to redesign the old restrooms and brought old mosaics, paintings, statues, and other design elements that date back to the beginning of the 20th century. Now numerous tourists come to visit this unusual place, and local businesses benefit from that.
The Best Location winner is a toilet opened in a La Jolla hotel. Hotel La Jolla in California offers a truly breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean, and in order to enjoy it, one simply needs to go to the toilet. Large windows let in natural light, creating harmony with earth shades of the interior. The toilet in Brisbane Airport, Australia, won the Best Accessible Toilet title. This is a spacious, flexible restroom with various options like removable handrails for visitors with disabilities, an adult change table, hoist, and even a special toilet for dogs that travel with people with disabilities. A sophistical digital reporting system makes sure the toilet is always clean.
Bowl Plaza, Lucas, in Kansas (USA) is the winner in the Quirkiest Experience category. It took four years to build this toilet, so no wonder why it has become one of the town’s attractions. Local craftsmen were restlessly creating detailed mosaics and even installed a giant concrete toilet roll nearby. The last but not the least, the James Bond Loos at Piz Gloria in Switzerland is the Overall Winner of the contest.