Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Pauline K. Eversmann, Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

The project  is related to the design of a new type of Public Toilets from the company Danfo for the year 2014.   The proper project follows asequential order to show how to create solution to the existing problems of these Service  and re-design the product itself to create a new look and new core values to the existing service , creating   a new product line for this kind of service in the market in this particular case the re-design  of a new type of Public Toilets for the year 2014.   Following the sequential order of a  design process it is proposed a new concept of Public Toilets  which will give service to users in City’s and Landscape areas. Developing a new  style and realistic concept of Publict Toilets.  Creating  sustainable buildings  which generate the 60 % of the own used energy,  using renewable energy sources from sun and wind, reusing the rainwater and with purifying water systems, for minimum water consumption, moreover a building  design to avoid vandalism and which give different services on the exterior creating information  reunion point, for the interior is looked at  the essence of  Public Toilets and why they where designed,  creating a new concept of  a multifunctional Hygiene cabin, and resolving the existing detected problems to create a  design concept that satisfied all the stakeholders involved in  the proper artifact and combined with the innovation of the design to open new markets.   A new type of Public Toilets with  new core values and which gives new services based on the conclusion and reflections of the  done research. It is proposed a Re-design of the Exterior and Interior  of the existing building and the design  of two  new artifacts  for the interior which resolves and gives service, creating new goals for the company  and a new style. Combined with the existing technology and production methods  and materials thinking in the future development and trends.

Women cannot exist in public space without public toilets, yet it can be difficult to find any that feel clean and safe to go to. That is why I propose to build public toilets for women on Renmarkstorget in central Umeå. Public toilets are where gender issues are exemplified in a public space and are therefore very politically charged. If we want to build for gender equality, we need to be conscious of who we are building for, how the space reflects our social values, and have a clear vision. Equal floorspace is often assigned to men’s and women’s toilets. But women need more floor space in toilets, due to menstruation, bringing children, sitting down to pee etc. This leads to longer toilet queues for the ladies’ room, and consequently, women stay shorter periods of time in public or even avoid it. This especially affects girls, elderly women, disabled women, homeless women, mothers, and pregnant women. The solutions include changing building regulations, architects acting on the issue, and of course electing more women on the city council who can speak on this issue from experience. This proposal includes 7 freestanding structural toilet units, a lunchroom, a playground, bicycle parking, and a bus stop. Because what happens outside the toilet is most important. Those activities need to overlap with the needs of women and enable them to feel seen but not exposed or observed and allow them to have control of their environment. Equality is about voice and therefore architects need to be conscious of how physical, virtual, and social environments either encourage, discourage, include, or exclude those voices by design.

Published Article / The 2012 residents of Huis Welgemoed, a residence for female students at Central University of Technology, Free State Bloemfontein Campus have reported a high prevalence of infections of the vagina and the urinary tract. They assume that this problem is associated with poor hygienic conditions in the toilets of their residence. However, this assumption may not be entirely true, as other factors may also contribute to their problem. Previous studies have shown that there is an evident relation of vaginitis and urinary tract infections (UTI) among students and the practices of personal hygiene or the level of toilet sanitation in their residences. Especially in facilities where the students have complained about the hygiene state of their residence toilets as unsatisfactory. This preliminary study has shown that the residence conforms to the standards set out by the S.A. requirements for toilets in student housing of 1 toilet per 6 students and that the cleaning materials and methods used by staff are adequate. Interestingly, the authors have found that a lack of knowledge around UTI's and VI's regarding basic prevention strategies is most probably the cause of the high incidence of these two types of infections.

Women often experience having to stand in line in order to use public restrooms. The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the number and types of activities performed in the restroom, along with the amount of time spent in the restroom, as these factors might influence the revision of plumbing codes and the design of public restrooms. Data were collected by a self administered questionnaire at four sites--an airport, highway rest area, sports arena, and conference center. The subjects were also timed. The sample consisted of 230 male and 224 female respondents. Males and females were similar in the types of activities performed in the restroom. Urination, washing hands, and checking appearance were the three activities performed most frequently by both genders. Females were more likely to have to stand in line to use the restroom than males, though the wait was usually fewer than five minutes. At two of the sites, airport and sports arena, females, on an average, performed more activities than males. At all four sites, females spent a significantly greater amount of time in the restroom than did males. For female respondents the mean time ranged from 152.5 seconds (sports arena) to 180.6 seconds (rest area). For male respondents the mean time ranged from 83.6 seconds (sports arena) to 112.5 seconds (airport). There was no significant relationship between age and the amount of time spent in the restroom, for either gender at any of the four sites. The results from two sites, however, showed a slight trend toward older people spending more time in the restroom. There was no clear pattern with regard to explaining the relationship between the amount of time spent in the restroom and the number of activities performed. For males only, there were significant differences among the four sites and the amount of time spent in the restroom. For both males and females, there were significant differences between number of activities performed and site. This research indicates that females need a greater number of elimination fixtures than do males, and that revision of plumbing codes, based on further research, is needed. / Ph. D.

A presente dissertação apresenta a pesquisa Banheiros públicos como demarcação de fronteiras identitárias: experiências de mulheres lésbicas em São Paulo, investigação que traz uma análise crítica sobre as experiências de mulheres lésbicas nos banheiros públicos em São Paulo. No seu objetivo geral, propôs-se identificar as desigualdades em termos de gênero e sexualidade, enquanto marcadores sociais da diferença, que operam nos banheiros públicos, fazendo uso de uma abordagem interdisciplinar entre os Estudos Culturais, as teorias Feministas, Pós-estruturalistas e Queer. Enquanto objetivo específico, buscou-se aprofundar na análise dos sentidos que as entrevistadas produziam ao narrarem suas experiências, analisando assim categorias conceituais e empíricas como mulher, homem, masculinidade, feminilidade, lésbica expressão de gênero e performance de gênero. A abordagem desses temas se contrapõe à concepção idealizada culturalmente dos banheiros como espaço neutro, no qual sua divisão se acredita dar de forma natural. Argumenta-se, por meio das experiências das entrevistadas, como este espaço opera como um dispositivo protocolar do gênero, em termos de indicar os limites e as fronteiras dos processos identitários entre os sujeitos. Desta forma, a não adequação dos sujeitos aos padrões de homem / mulher gera uma ruptura no sistema heteronormativo, no sentido das expectativas e demandas sociais, e aciona diversas técnicas de poder e controle, tornando o banheiro em mais um cenário normativo de afirmação da diferença sexual. O banheiro público é o local por meio do qual, a diferença sexual vai se afirmar e sustentar, já seja no sentido simbólico (os signos, figuras, representações do masculino e do feminino) ou literal (dispositivos de vigilância e controle que estão dispersos no meio social que instituem modelos de corpos-homem e corpos-mulher). Assim, o banheiro público representa, na sociedade paulista contemporânea, o último bastião do sistema heteronormativo e patriarcal / The present research Public bathrooms as demarcation of identity borders: experiences of lesbian women in São Paulo, provides a critical analysis of the experiences of lesbian women in public toilets in São Paulo. Its general objective was to identify inequalities in terms of gender and sexuality as social markers of difference that operate in public toilets, using an interdisciplinary approach between Cultural Studies, and the Feminist, Post-structuralist and Queer theories. As a specific objective, we sought to deepen the analysis of the meanings the interviewees produced in narrating their experiences, thus analyzing conceptual and empirical categories such as woman, man, masculinity, femininity, lesbian, gender expression and gender performance. The approach to these themes runs counter to the culturally idealized conception of the bathrooms as a neutral space, in which their division is believed to be natural. It is argued, through the experiences of the interviewees, that this space operates as a gender device protocol, in terms of indicating the limits and the boundaries of the identity processes between the subjects. As such, the non-adaptation of the subjects to the standards of man/ woman generates a rupture in the heteronormative system, in the sense of expectations and social demands, and triggers several techniques of power and control, making the bathroom another normative scenario of affirmation of sexual difference. The public toilet is the place whereby sexual difference is affirmed and sustained, whether in the symbolic sense (signs, figures, representations of the masculine and the feminine) or literal (devices of surveillance and control which are dispersed in the social environment that establish models of man-bodies and woman-bodies). Thus, the public bathroom represents, in contemporary Paulista society, the last bastion of the heteronormative and patriarchal system

There is a common belief that the special situation one encounters in restrooms is likely to evoke negative associations between the setting and a potential product, and that these presumed associations make advertising in restrooms incompatible with the objectives of advertisers. This general proposition was questioned on theoretical grounds. It was argued that the specific situation in a restroom would be conducive to advertising goals in a number of ways. In addition, while negative associations may occur with certain kinds of products, others were hypothesized to be unaffected. In particular, the potential value of restrooms for communicating public education issues such as AIDS and Cholesterol was examined.

Growing cities come with complex challenges. As diverse people live and work in the cities, the public spaces within them must accommodate a range of needs and wants. But who is the city built for? By using semi-structured interviews, site visits, observations and an online survey, this thesis aimed to investigate the public toilets of Stockholm, asking what the role of the public toilets are and how this has been shaped, what peoples experiences of and thus approaches towards them are as well as how we could start to change current discourses and practices, both in developing and using them. The study indicated that the role of the public toilet is to make the city accessible for all, especially for more toilet-dependent people and as a means of equity and that it has become more central and public in the city than before. People’s experiences of and attitudes towards public toilets are indicated to be generally negative but there are several ways which one could change current practices, such as inclusive design processes, more information and transparency, retrofitting and adding value to public toilets in public space rather than taking functions away. The question of public toilets in cities are still highly unexplored and this thesis calls for a change on all levels and for all actors involved to work towards a more inclusive city where our most basic needs are accommodated for in a just and equal way.