08/06: Tokyo
Nishisando Public Toilet
Designer: Sou Fujimoto (Architect, born in 1971. He established Sou Fujimoto Architects in 2000. His representative works include the Musashino Art University Museum and Library. Expanding internationally, he opened a Paris office in 2016 and was appointed Venue Design Producer for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.)
The Nishisando Public Toilet is conceived as both a vessel and a fountain, inviting contemplation of the relationship between the city and public sanitation. Five faucets are accessible both from inside the facility and from the sidewalk, enabling everyone—from small children to tall adults—to access clean water at their preferred height.
With its deep concave form encapsulating hand-washing basins of varying levels into a single structure, the building embodies the idea of a shared “vessel.” The design claims to contribute civic value by making visible the links between plumbing infrastructure, water, and public life.