It was a proposal to a competition for a public toilet planned in the Event Plaza of the Forest of Relaxation on Mountain Tatsuda as part of Kumamoto Artpolis project.
Mountain Tatsuda, standing 152 m northeast of Kumamoto city, is one of few precious natural environments left among urban context frequently visited for a short weekend trip or hiking. The winding mountain trails continue and connect place to place in the Forest of Relaxation, and the Event Plaza is one of the biggest spots that also functions as an entrance from which people start enjoying the nature after parking their car or bicycle. Public toilet to be located in such area, in our perception, is demanded to provide a restful atmosphere. We have come up with a continuous curvilinear structure softly blended into nature like the forest pathways.
A stream of wooden veils folds and flows among trees, leaning towards or separating from each other here and there, creating private or open spaces through the sloped field. The curved surface is composed as one structural piece with 90x90mm pine lumbers sandwiched by structural plywoods. Its crooked shape enables self-reliant structure, which is further supported on either side alternately by an additional surface, together assembling a substantial structural system resistant to lateral shake as whole.
The curved veil floats at the entrance of the forest merging the edge between the open plaza and the woodland, while at the same time subdividing the places to arrange lavatory, bench, bike parking and plaza in harmony with its flexible flow.
Location:Kumamoto, Japan/Program:Public toilet/Site area:167ha/Building area:50m2/Total floor area:50m2/Structure・Scale:Wood, 1F