Resources

Find published information on toilet design. Our resource bank includes guidance, standards, regulation, toolkits, websites and research.  Resources can be filtered by type or subject area, using the keywords shown.

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Author/s:
Barbara Penner
Summary:
This paper, published in Journal of Design History, considers the following two points: first, how the design and siting of a women's lavatory is not a neutral act but one that is shaped by historically and culturally specific notions; and second, how an everyday space such as a public lavatory actively positions (and re-positions) its users in relation to the existing power structure, providing an opportunity for small resistances to the status quo to occur.
Web link:
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Publication date:
2001
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Keywods:
GenderHistoryPublic Toilets
Type:
Academic Paper

Author/s:
Clara Greed
Summary:
This book provides both design guidance and policy direction for the provision and design of public toilets and covering city-wide, district-level and site-specific principles. It highlights the role of urban design in reversing the trend of inadequate toilet provision, and sets out guidelines for design which meets both user need and provider requirements.
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Publication date:
2003
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Keywods:
Built EnvironmentDesignPublic Toilets
Type:
Book

Author/s:
Alexander Kira
Summary:
This comprehensive study explores the physiological functional processes, anatomy, anthropometry and design criteria of the bathroom, within the framework of contemporary Western culture.
Web link:
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Publication date:
1975
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Keywods:
DataDesignErgonomics
Type:
Book

Author/s:
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Summary:
Building regulation in England to ensure that people are able to access and use buildings and their facilities. Volume 2 includes design considerations for toilets in buildings other than dwellings.
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Publication date:
2015
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Keywods:
AccessibilityDesignDisability
Type:
Standards and Guidance

Author/s:
Eleanor van den Heuvel, Mary Gilhooly, Ian Sutherland, Felicity Jowitt, Kevin McKee, Lena Dahlberg, Stuart Parker, Patrick Gaydecki, Norman Ratcliffe, Jo-Anne Bichard, Adele Long, Nikki Cotterill, Susie Orme
Summary:
This report shares the key findings of the Tackling Ageing Continence through Theory Tools and Technology (TACT3) project, where the overall aim was to reduce the impact of continence difficulties for older people, including access to toilets.
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Publication date:
2012
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Keywods:
AccessibilityDesignDisability
Type:
Report

Author/s:
Jo-Anne Bichard
Summary:
This PhD thesis uses the case of the publicly accessible toilet to demonstrate how the design of these facilities has continued to present a ‘special needs’ approach, opposed to inclusive design.
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Publication date:
2014
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Keywods:
AccessibilityBuilt EnvironmentDisability
Type:
Academic Paper

Author/s:
Juliette Hanson; Jo-Anne Bichard; Clara Greed
Summary:
This Accessible Toilet Design Resource, part of VivaCity 2020, is concerned primarily with the design of the accessible toilet cubicle that should be provided for customer or public use wherever there is standard toilet provision.
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Publication date:
2007
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Keywods:
AccessibilityDesignDisability
Type:
Design Guide

Author/s:
Jo-Anne Bichard; Gail Ramster
Summary:
This guide has been developed from an inclusive design philosophy for providers of publicly accessible toilets, designers, architects and built environment professionals to help make design decisions about their facilities.
File:
Publicly_Accissible_Toilets_1.pdf 3.75 MB
Publication date:
2011
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Keywods:
AccessibilityDesignInclusion
Type:
Design Guide

Author/s:
Gail Ramster; Clara Greed; Jo-Anne Bichard
Summary:
This paper published in Built Environment explores how public toilet design for new and existing UK provision can be inclusive all genders and their rights to access, without excluding those socially and culturally dependent on a gender-segregated space.
Web link:
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Publication date:
2018
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Keywods:
DesignGenderInclusion
Type:
Academic Paper