<figure><img src="image_110.png" /></figure>

The message, "Now wash your hands" is followed by *Vos mains ne présentent main-tenantplus de risque* (2019) by Johana Blanc. Various subtly pronounced instructions for action on the toilet such as the request to wash one's hands or automatic flushing are intended to ensure that the toilet remains a bacteria-free precinct. Johana Blanc pursues such instructions on a verbal level. She condenses found requests to wash hands into poetic texts, which she applies manually by hand in lettering. This "contaminated" script implicitly refers to the contamination that one wishes to counter with hand washing. The soaps by Isabelle Krieg, Sonja Duò-Meyer, Mickry 3, Marlies Pekarek and TOILETPAPER are also linked to this topic and expand it in various directions. Soaps are multi-layered through their material. They have a special aesthetics and feel (one is inevitably reminded of Lucas' *The Old In-Out*) and, last but not least, they also refer to cleansing with soap as a global cultural technique. As objects midway between art and design, they enjoy great popularity.

Toilets are not only connected or related to bacteria. Standardized behavior is also expected here. Quantitatively-dosed soap dispensers, self-closing taps and timed hand dryers are the most harmless signs of this expectation. Steven Pippin defied this in his work, *The Continued Saga of an Amateur Photographer, dripping with English humor* (1993). He turned a train toilet into a camera obscura on a trip from London to Brighton. A video documents his actions, his performance, the way he exposes, develops, and fixes the photographic paper. Is the toilet becoming a viewing machine or is Pippin's work more a self-portrait? This reversal of perspectives is manifested

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** Spot On Josiane Imhasly

80

<figure><img src="image_111.png" /></figure>

as one of the leitmotifs of the exhibition in two other works, Daniel Eatock's *Toilet Paper* (2019) and Andreas Slominski's *Cap* (2016). Both play with the bourgeois habit of hiding toilet paper in a witty way. But what is actually said about us in the fact that we equip toilet paper roll holders with mirrors so that we can see ourselves while we are sitting on the toilet (Florian Bühler, *Wandstück I*, 2017)?

The *Stoned in the Bathroom* installation by Jérôme Nager and Timéa Schmidt, from the Interior Architecture Department at HEAD-Genève, returns to the fact that deviant behavior in public toilets is not tolerated. Fluorescent lighting indicates a form of social and political oppression of marginalized groups in this place. These lights were installed in Swiss toilets at the beginning of the 1990s to make it impossible for drug addicts to see their veins and to ban them from these places. An essay by Nager follows the history of this lighting, and a sound track complements the installation with noises from the interior of the toilet technology. A transportation box indicates that the installation could be set up elsewhere at any time.

To close the circle—we remember questions of technology, design, and architecture in the haze of the toilet—we dare to suggest an allegory between the inside of the body and the inside of architecture with two works. Firstly, Jan Sebesta's work *Slepenec* (2019), which invites one to carry one of the four yellow tube or worm-like parts on
<figure><img src="image_109.png" /></figure>

The message, "Now wash your hands" is followed by *Vos mains ne présentent main-tenantplus de risque* (2019) by Johana Blanc. Various subtly pronounced instructions for action on the toilet such as the request to wash one's hands or automatic flushing are intended to ensure that the toilet remains a bacteria-free precinct. Johana Blanc pursues such instructions on a verbal level. She condenses found requests to wash hands into poetic texts, which she applies manually by hand in lettering. This "contaminated" script implicitly refers to the contamination that one wishes to counter with hand washing. The soaps by Isabelle Krieg, Sonja Duò-Meyer, Mickry 3, Marlies Pekarek and TOILETPAPER are also linked to this topic and expand it in various directions. Soaps are multi-layered through their material. They have a special aesthetics and feel (one is inevitably reminded of Lucas' *The Old In-Out*) and, last but not least, they also refer to cleansing with soap as a global cultural technique. As objects midway between art and design, they enjoy great popularity.

Toilets are not only connected or related to bacteria. Standardized behavior is also expected here. Quantitatively-dosed soap dispensers, self-closing taps and timed hand dryers are the most harmless signs of this expectation. Steven Pippin defied this in his work, *The Continued Saga of an Amateur Photographer, dripping with English humor* (1993). He turned a train toilet into a camera obscura on a trip from London to Brighton. A video documents his actions, his performance, the way he exposes, develops, and fixes the photographic paper. Is the toilet becoming a viewing machine or is Pippin's work more a self-portrait? This reversal of perspectives is manifested

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** Spot On Josiane Imhasly

80

<figure><img src="image_110.png" /></figure>

as one of the leitmotifs of the exhibition in two other works, Daniel Eatock's *Toilet Paper* (2019) and Andreas Slominski's *Cap* (2016). Both play with the bourgeois habit of hiding toilet paper in a witty way. But what is actually said about us in the fact that we equip toilet paper roll holders with mirrors so that we can see ourselves while we are sitting on the toilet (Florian Bühler, *Wandstück I*, 2017)?

The *Stoned in the Bathroom* installation by Jérôme Nager and Timéa Schmidt, from the Interior Architecture Department at HEAD-Genève, returns to the fact that deviant behavior in public toilets is not tolerated. Fluorescent lighting indicates a form of social and political oppression of marginalized groups in this place. These lights were installed in Swiss toilets at the beginning of the 1990s to make it impossible for drug addicts to see their veins and to ban them from these places. An essay by Nager follows the history of this lighting, and a sound track complements the installation with noises from the interior of the toilet technology. A transportation box indicates that the installation could be set up elsewhere at any time.

To close the circle—we remember questions of technology, design, and architecture in the haze of the toilet—we dare to suggest an allegory between the inside of the body and the inside of architecture with two works. Firstly, Jan Sebesta's work *Slepenec* (2019), which invites one to carry one of the four yellow tube or worm-like parts on
the body. One can and should reach into these objects to activate a loudspeaker that makes digestive noises. Here, the proximity of infrastructure and body is not only visible, but can also be experienced.

Finally, *Kanalvideo* by Fischli//Weiss (1992) takes us on a hypnotic journey through the “guts” of the city of Zurich. The tracking shot is a cinematographic readymade of the sewage system. The artists assembled film material created by the urban drainage department and processed it with colored grids. Fischli//Weiss’ preference for the repressed, the mundane, and the seemingly banal shows itself literally on the surface and is transformed. *Kanalvideo* can also be read as an ironic commentary on Switzerland, which is known for its cleanliness.
the body. One can and should reach into these objects to activate a loudspeaker that makes digestive noises. Here, the proximity of infrastructure and body is not only visible, but can also be experienced.

Finally, *Kanalvideo* by Fischli//Weiss (1992) takes us on a hypnotic journey through the “guts” of the city of Zurich. The tracking shot is a cinematographic readymade of the sewage system. The artists assembled film material created by the urban drainage department and processed it with colored grids. Fischli//Weiss’ preference for the repressed, the mundane, and the seemingly banal shows itself literally on the surface and is transformed. *Kanalvideo* can also be read as an ironic commentary on Switzerland, which is known for its cleanliness.
## An Attempt to Control the Blue

### Jérôme Nager

The title of this chapter, a nod at an underrated song in the history of American rock, refers to what at first sight seems anecdotal, but in fact is a very real problem. It has to do with the notion of our perception of space and the influence that it has on our mood. In fact, if Chubby Checker is "sitting in the bathroom one Sunday afternoon" (111) and it is so important to share with his listeners for a whole song, it is because there is a close connection that links drugs to toilets. Needless to say, drugs and public baths go hand in hand. To prove it, one merely has to combine these two keywords in the search bar of the Le Temps newspaper archive (112) to get more than 5,000 results. (113) Is this a fact or an unconscious reminiscence of the media coverage for this highly successful topic since the late 1980s? Although this question is reasonable, it will certainly remain unanswered. Nevertheless, the fact is that for thirty years, this connection has been anchored in the collective unconscious, perhaps much more in Switzerland than elsewhere, and that it has never stopped feeding debate.

111 Chubby Checker, *Stoned in the Bathroom*, Chubby Checkered, "Stone in the Bathroom," Chequered! (London: London Records, 1971). 112 *Le Temps* Archives, https://www.letempsarchives.ch/recherche?q=toilettes+%2B+drogue+apres%3A1920+avant%3A2004#, accessed April 9, 2019. 113 The *Le Temps* archives contain only three newspapers, *La Gazette de Lausanne*, *Le Journal de Genève* and *Nouveau Quotidien*, all of which are French-speaking. This result allows us to comprehend the magnitude of the subject dealt by the media.

<figure><img src="image_112.png" /></figure>

To understand the extent of the demand and its source, we must go back in history. At the dawn of the 1960s, Switzerland did not seem far from its stereotypical image. It was peaceful, clean, hard-working and unharmed by the scourge of drugs that was to plague it two decades later. The authorities, victims of the ostrich syndrome, turned its back completely on the growing drug phenomenon until it emerged out of the shadows. It was only in the 1970s that Switzerland confronted the drug issue for the first time in a relevant way, in an era when the social movements emerging from the May 68-inspired liberation from customs became fashionable. (114) At a time when drug trafficking, but not consumption, was punishable, the authorities reacted, revised the Federal Narcotics Act, and suppressed even the simplest use of drugs. (115) Convinced that this was the only way to return to peace, the authorities were surprised to find it ineffective, since the sharply growing number of users, especially of heroin, did not stop. (116) Between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of 1990s, the large cities of Switzerland were confronted with a growing presence of drug addicts who chose various public spaces as their home. Media coverage brought the problem out of the shadows and gradually made it visible, greatly disturbing the authorities and the general population. In Zurich, where the phenomenon struck the hardest, the drug users occupying the Platzspitz numbered several thousand. (117) The growing presence of this population, the consequential drawbacks and the pressure exerted by local shopkeepers and residents pushed the authorities to evacuate the places and finally close the park. Considering the

114 Kim Carrasco, *Gouvernance de la politique drogue dans les villes suisses* (Master's thesis of Advances Studies (MAS) in Public Administration (Laussane: UNIL, 2016), 3. 115 "La politique suisse en matière de drogues: un modèle pionnier," *Spectra*, last modified April 2017, http://www.spectra-online.ch/fr/spectra/themes/la-politique-suisse-en-matiere-de-drogue-un-modele-pionnier-589-10.html. 116 Up to 30,000 people, in a 1990's estimate. Kim Carrasco, *Gouvernance*, 3. 117 "Up to 3000 Swiss and foreign drug addicts came to stock up, mainly on heroin". "Zurich évacuait, il y a 25 ans, la scène ouverte de la drogue du Platzspitz", *RTS Info*, https://www.rts.ch/info/regions/autrescantons/8361972-zurich-evacuait-il-y-a-25-ans-la-scene-ouverte-de-la-drogue-du-platzspitz.html., accessed April 10, 2019,
## An Attempt to Control the Blue

### Jérôme Nager

The title of this chapter, a nod at an underrated song in the history of American rock, refers to what at first sight seems anecdotal, but in fact is a very real problem. It has to do with the notion of our perception of space and the influence that it has on our mood. In fact, if Chubby Checker is "sitting in the bathroom one Sunday afternoon" (111) and it is so important to share with his listeners for a whole song, it is because there is a close connection that links drugs to toilets. Needless to say, drugs and public baths go hand in hand. To prove it, one merely has to combine these two keywords in the search bar of the Le Temps newspaper archive (112) to get more than 5,000 results. (113) Is this a fact or an unconscious reminiscence of the media coverage for this highly successful topic since the late 1980s? Although this question is reasonable, it will certainly remain unanswered. Nevertheless, the fact is that for thirty years, this connection has been anchored in the collective unconscious, perhaps much more in Switzerland than elsewhere, and that it has never stopped feeding debate.

111 Chubby Checker, *Stoned in the Bathroom*, Chubby Checkered, "Stone in the Bathroom," Chequered! (London: London Records, 1971). 112 *Le Temps* Archives, https://www.letempsarchives.ch/recherche?q=toilettes+%2B+drogue+apres%3A1920+avant%3A2004#, accessed April 9, 2019. 113 The *Le Temps* archives contain only three newspapers, *La Gazette de Lausanne*, *Le Journal de Genève* and *Nouveau Quotidien*, all of which are French-speaking. This result allows us to comprehend the magnitude of the subject dealt by the media.

<figure><img src="image_111.png" /></figure>

To understand the extent of the demand and its source, we must go back in history. At the dawn of the 1960s, Switzerland did not seem far from its stereotypical image. It was peaceful, clean, hard-working and unharmed by the scourge of drugs that was to plague it two decades later. The authorities, victims of the ostrich syndrome, turned its back completely on the growing drug phenomenon until it emerged out of the shadows. It was only in the 1970s that Switzerland confronted the drug issue for the first time in a relevant way, in an era when the social movements emerging from the May 68-inspired liberation from customs became fashionable. (114) At a time when drug trafficking, but not consumption, was punishable, the authorities reacted, revised the Federal Narcotics Act, and suppressed even the simplest use of drugs. (115) Convinced that this was the only way to return to peace, the authorities were surprised to find it ineffective, since the sharply growing number of users, especially of heroin, did not stop. (116) Between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of 1990s, the large cities of Switzerland were confronted with a growing presence of drug addicts who chose various public spaces as their home. Media coverage brought the problem out of the shadows and gradually made it visible, greatly disturbing the authorities and the general population. In Zurich, where the phenomenon struck the hardest, the drug users occupying the Platzspitz numbered several thousand. (117) The growing presence of this population, the consequential drawbacks and the pressure exerted by local shopkeepers and residents pushed the authorities to evacuate the places and finally close the park. Considering the

114 Kim Carrasco, *Gouvernance de la politique drogue dans les villes suisses* (Master's thesis of Advances Studies (MAS) in Public Administration (Laussane: UNIL, 2016), 3. 115 "La politique suisse en matière de drogues: un modèle pionnier," *Spectra*, last modified April 2017, http://www.spectra-online.ch/fr/spectra/themes/la-politique-suisse-en-matiere-de-drogue-un-modele-pionnier-589-10.html. 116 Up to 30,000 people, in a 1990's estimate. Kim Carrasco, *Gouvernance*, 3. 117 "Up to 3000 Swiss and foreign drug addicts came to stock up, mainly on heroin". "Zurich évacuait, il y a 25 ans, la scène ouverte de la drogue du Platzspitz", *RTS Info*, https://www.rts.ch/info/regions/autrescantons/8361972-zurich-evacuait-il-y-a-25-ans-la-scene-ouverte-de-la-drogue-du-platzspitz.html., accessed April 10, 2019,
fact that this decision was not supported by any accompanying measures, the drug addicts, deprived of their favorite
place, naturally moved a few hundred meters away to the abandoned Letten station. Observation of what happened
afterwards was bitter. It took very little time for this new scene to become even larger than the previous one, and
it became the meeting place for several thousand people until the situation became almost uncontrollable. (118)
These real-life scenes, unprecedented in the recent history of Switzerland, gradually became inevitable, even out-
side our borders, to the point of being perceived as the archetype of a zone of non-legality (119) that marked a
turning point in the awareness of the Swiss authorities. The echo abroad was so great that even the US-based CNN
produced a report on the problem in the early 1990s. (120) It had to reach the point that the image of Switzerland
was affected and the of the concerns of the population were crystallization before the government sought a viable
solution to fix the problem. This is how this awareness has paved the way for a new drug policy at the canton and
federal levels. (121) Indeed, in just a few years, Switzerland adopted a "four-pillar" policy, based on prevention,
therapy, risk reduction, and repression. (122) This policy has proven to be effective, particularly in reducing the
number of overdoses. It has and still inspires the anti-drug policies of several foreign countries. Following these
basic measures, open-air squats gradually disappeared and gave way to injection rooms. Although the drug problem
is still fundamentally unresolved and will probably never be resolved, at least it has been contained.

118 RTS Info, "Zurich évacuait." 119 Kim Carrasco, *Gouvernance*, 3.

120 Kim Carrasco, *Gouvernance*, 3. 121 RTS Info, "Zurich évacuait." 122 RTS Info, "Zurich évacuait."

After presenting the scenario for this dark age in Swiss history, without any pun intended, we can talk about the
side effects that these events have had on public infrastructures. They range from simple objects such as syringe
barrels placed in toilets to other more drastic measures. Devices have abounded not to help the fight against drugs,
but rather against their users. One such device, which may initially seem anecdotal, has been the proliferation of
blue lights in public spaces, especially in toilets. Many people still ignore their purpose, but Switzerland, we have
all suffered from them on some occasion.

It is impossible to find a clear answer to the question of who was behind the installation of these lights in public
spaces (city centers, railway stations, shopping centers, discos, etc.), but we know for certain that it was not an
architect or a designer. Since the Swiss administrative system is split up between federal, cantonal and municipal
jurisdiction, the search for this source is utopian, above all because it is not a measure with established jurispru-
dence. The identity of the individual who had the brilliant idea that changing the color of light bulbs would prevent
drug addicts from injecting themselves therefore remains a mystery. Let us imagine for a moment, in the context
of today's compulsive need to find a culprit for every circumstance, that this idea came from an elected official, a
deputy, a zealous functionary, or even a lambda citizen spurred by an almost humanistic desire to fight unflinching-
ly against the drug problem. One can easily imagine the mental process that led him to present such a proposal.

<figure><img src="image_113.png" /></figure>
fact that this decision was not supported by any accompanying measures, the drug addicts, deprived of their favorite
place, naturally moved a few hundred meters away to the abandoned Letten station. Observation of what happened
afterwards was bitter. It took very little time for this new scene to become even larger than the previous one, and
it became the meeting place for several thousand people until the situation became almost uncontrollable. (118)
These real-life scenes, unprecedented in the recent history of Switzerland, gradually became inevitable, even out-
side our borders, to the point of being perceived as the archetype of a zone of non-legality (119) that marked a
turning point in the awareness of the Swiss authorities. The echo abroad was so great that even the US-based CNN
produced a report on the problem in the early 1990s. (120) It had to reach the point that the image of Switzerland
was affected and the of the concerns of the population were crystallization before the government sought a viable
solution to fix the problem. This is how this awareness has paved the way for a new drug policy at the canton and
federal levels. (121) Indeed, in just a few years, Switzerland adopted a "four-pillar" policy, based on prevention,
therapy, risk reduction, and repression. (122) This policy has proven to be effective, particularly in reducing the
number of overdoses. It has and still inspires the anti-drug policies of several foreign countries. Following these
basic measures, open-air squats gradually disappeared and gave way to injection rooms. Although the drug problem
is still fundamentally unresolved and will probably never be resolved, at least it has been contained.

118 RTS Info, "Zurich évacuait." 119 Kim Carrasco, *Gouvernance*, 3.

120 Kim Carrasco, *Gouvernance*, 3. 121 RTS Info, "Zurich évacuait." 122 RTS Info, "Zurich évacuait."

After presenting the scenario for this dark age in Swiss history, without any pun intended, we can talk about the
side effects that these events have had on public infrastructures. They range from simple objects such as syringe
barrels placed in toilets to other more drastic measures. Devices have abounded not to help the fight against drugs,
but rather against their users. One such device, which may initially seem anecdotal, has been the proliferation of
blue lights in public spaces, especially in toilets. Many people still ignore their purpose, but Switzerland, we have
all suffered from them on some occasion.

It is impossible to find a clear answer to the question of who was behind the installation of these lights in public
spaces (city centers, railway stations, shopping centers, discos, etc.), but we know for certain that it was not an
architect or a designer. Since the Swiss administrative system is split up between federal, cantonal and municipal
jurisdiction, the search for this source is utopian, above all because it is not a measure with established jurispru-
dence. The identity of the individual who had the brilliant idea that changing the color of light bulbs would prevent
drug addicts from injecting themselves therefore remains a mystery. Let us imagine for a moment, in the context
of today's compulsive need to find a culprit for every circumstance, that this idea came from an elected official, a
deputy, a zealous functionary, or even a lambda citizen spurred by an almost humanistic desire to fight unflinching-
ly against the drug problem. One can easily imagine the mental process that led him to present such a proposal.

<figure><img src="image_112.png" /></figure>
His starting point was undoubtedly the fact that there are too many undesirable drug addicts in public bathrooms and that they use these places for the specific purpose of taking drugs, thus depriving the good citizen of a public service infrastructure. So, he must have wondered how to prevent these miserable people from entering these places in the first place and shift their dirty activity away from the innocent view of the lambda person. Finally, it was probably the thought that these ungrateful people inevitably need to see their veins to satisfy their needs that triggered the ingenious idea: a light close to the color of their veins should be installed to make injection difficult or impossible.

Whatever the case, the goal of the person or people who initiated this measure was unquestionably to prevent addicts from being able to inject themselves in public places by making it much more difficult. The fact is that a blue-colored light in an enclosed space does prevent one from detecting superficial veins. This was expected to result in this population moving elsewhere. At the same time, it would also have the effect of rediscovering the original use of these public places by the users for whom they were originally designed, whose safety and well-being was the authorities' main concern.

The irony of this fate is that anyone who has once found themselves beneath this lighting undoubtedly has a memory of mixed feelings of resentment and strangeness. Who has never experienced a frantic search for a public

toilet due to an urgent need? Once this refuge for a little privacy is found, the relief is often accompanied by the desolation of having to sit in a place drowned in a glaucous environment tinged with blue where previous users have not failed to leave a memento of their presence. Initially, the purpose of these lights was not to cause unease among ordinary users, but that has been precisely one of its effects due to the lack of comfort that it produces. The legitimate question that can be asked is therefore whether this discomfort is at least offset by a solution to the problem that the lights were initially intended to solve.

Against all expectations, it is now proven that these blue lights do not fulfill their expectations. Worse still, that they have had a negative impact, since they pose more risks not only to the drug-dependent population but also to non-users of drugs. In fact, one study using testimonies from drug users has seriously questioned the effectiveness of blue lights installed in public places. (123) This study traces the feelings of people whose presence is not desired in toilets equipped with these lights. In the first place, the researchers found that public toilet injections were only an emergency solution for participants, since they clearly preferred private locations. Indeed, public toilets only offer relative privacy and questionable hygiene. Despite this, and because the ultimate need for injection takes precedence over any other consideration, public toilets are the ideal rescue solution, whether or not they have blue lights. The majority of respondents knew the purpose of the blue lighting, namely that it was an attempt to

<footnote n="123">123 Alexis Crabtree et al., "A qualitative study of the perceived effects of blue lights in washrooms on people who use injection drugs," *Harm Reduction Journal*, vol.10, no. 22, 2013.</footnote>
His starting point was undoubtedly the fact that there are too many undesirable drug addicts in public bathrooms and that they use these places for the specific purpose of taking drugs, thus depriving the good citizen of a public service infrastructure. So, he must have wondered how to prevent these miserable people from entering these places in the first place and shift their dirty activity away from the innocent view of the lambda person. Finally, it was probably the thought that these ungrateful people inevitably need to see their veins to satisfy their needs that triggered the ingenious idea: a light close to the color of their veins should be installed to make injection difficult or impossible.

Whatever the case, the goal of the person or people who initiated this measure was unquestionably to prevent addicts from being able to inject themselves in public places by making it much more difficult. The fact is that a blue-colored light in an enclosed space does prevent one from detecting superficial veins. This was expected to result in this population moving elsewhere. At the same time, it would also have the effect of rediscovering the original use of these public places by the users for whom they were originally designed, whose safety and well-being was the authorities' main concern.

The irony of this fate is that anyone who has once found themselves beneath this lighting undoubtedly has a memory of mixed feelings of resentment and strangeness. Who has never experienced a frantic search for a public

toilet due to an urgent need? Once this refuge for a little privacy is found, the relief is often accompanied by the desolation of having to sit in a place drowned in a glaucous environment tinged with blue where previous users have not failed to leave a memento of their presence. Initially, the purpose of these lights was not to cause unease among ordinary users, but that has been precisely one of its effects due to the lack of comfort that it produces. The legitimate question that can be asked is therefore whether this discomfort is at least offset by a solution to the problem that the lights were initially intended to solve.

Against all expectations, it is now proven that these blue lights do not fulfill their expectations. Worse still, that they have had a negative impact, since they pose more risks not only to the drug-dependent population but also to non-users of drugs. In fact, one study using testimonies from drug users has seriously questioned the effectiveness of blue lights installed in public places. (123) This study traces the feelings of people whose presence is not desired in toilets equipped with these lights. In the first place, the researchers found that public toilet injections were only an emergency solution for participants, since they clearly preferred private locations. Indeed, public toilets only offer relative privacy and questionable hygiene. Despite this, and because the ultimate need for injection takes precedence over any other consideration, public toilets are the ideal rescue solution, whether or not they have blue lights. The majority of respondents knew the purpose of the blue lighting, namely that it was an attempt to

<footnote n="123">123 Alexis Crabtree et al., "A qualitative study of the perceived effects of blue lights in washrooms on people who use injection drugs," *Harm Reduction Journal*, vol.10, no. 22, 2013.</footnote>
impede drug use. Some of them, however, stated that the lights did not discourage them from using drugs, and
more than half of the respondents said that by forcing drug addicts like themselves to move to other places where
their consumption would be more visible, they felt deeply stigmatized.

Another publication describes in more detail the health risks posed by the presence of blue neon lights, (124) which
in fact encourage more dangerous injections. Blue lights interfere with the perception of superficial veins such as
those in the forearm, forcing drug users to try to inject into deeper veins such as the femoral vein that does not
need to be visible. The medical risks then become serious: infection, thrombosis, lesions to the artery or the femoral
nerve. Another risk induced by this lighting is that of missing a vein, overdosing the injection or administering the
product in the surrounding tissues, all three scenarios being potentially fatal. (125)

These observations are only concerned with perceived and proven drug addicts. As mentioned above, modified
lighting also has a negative impact on the use that every ordinary person can make of these blue spaces.

A space remains abstract as long as light does not manage to draw its contours and define its shape. The dimensi-
ons of a space are formed through light. Its quantity and its contribution shape our feelings because our sensations
are largely defined by vision. Light, both natural and artificial, undeniably influences the effects and qualities of a
space which, depending on the latter, appears to us in totally different ways.

124 Kevin Flemen, "Blue Light Blues: The Use of Coloured Lights as a Deterrent to Injecting" (Kfx, 2003) 125 Kevin Flemen, "Blue Light Blues."

Imposing such a measure on ordinary citizens forces them to use a diminished space, in the sense that some of the
functions of a bathroom are denied to them. Not without reason, artist Bruce Nauman has repeatedly used blue
light in his installations, especially in *Natural Light, Blue Light Room*, in order to deliberately disorient the audience
and cause a sense of discomfort in it. (126) In less artistic contexts, this light is also known for its uncomfortable
properties, if only for hindering simple gestures.

The effect of blue lighting undeniably hinders the use of a mirror, as it alters the viewer's perception. For example, it makes it impossible to see make-up, comb one's hair or even perceive one's reflection correctly. This has also had a real impact on the feeling of the space, since the mere sight of a blue light can cause anxiety and discomfort, especially in a closed, restricted location. In effect, it announces a pre-existing problem of drug addiction and therefore insecurity. Although this may be erroneous, it is nevertheless the way that the user, confronted with such lighting, will perceive things.

Why then, one may ask, should blue neon lights be installed if their utility is not proven? Conversely, such facilities are non-existent in places that are not plagued by the presence of drug addicts and are considered safe. In addition to influencing the feelings of ordinary users, this diffuse lighting also has the disadvantage of making these particular spaces less safe, since reduced vision in them can cause falls or injuries due to impact on

126 Joseph Ketner II, *Elusive Signs: Bruce Nauman Works with Light*, (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2006), 45.
impede drug use. Some of them, however, stated that the lights did not discourage them from using drugs, and more than half of the respondents said that by forcing drug addicts like themselves to move to other places where their consumption would be more visible, they felt deeply stigmatized.

Another publication describes in more detail the health risks posed by the presence of blue neon lights, (124) which in fact encourage more dangerous injections. Blue lights interfere with the perception of superficial veins such as those in the forearm, forcing drug users to try to inject into deeper veins such as the femoral vein that does not need to be visible. The medical risks then become serious: infection, thrombosis, lesions to the artery or the femoral nerve. Another risk induced by this lighting is that of missing a vein, overdosing the injection or administering the product in the surrounding tissues, all three scenarios being potentially fatal. (125)

These observations are only concerned with perceived and proven drug addicts. As mentioned above, modified lighting also has a negative impact on the use that every ordinary person can make of these blue spaces.

A space remains abstract as long as light does not manage to draw its contours and define its shape. The dimensions of a space are formed through light. Its quantity and its contribution shape our feelings because our sensations are largely defined by vision. Light, both natural and artificial, undeniably influences the effects and qualities of a space which, depending on the latter, appears to us in totally different ways.

124 Kevin Flemen, "Blue Light Blues: The Use of Coloured Lights as a Deterrent to Injecting" (Kfx, 2003) 125 Kevin Flemen, "Blue Light Blues."

Imposing such a measure on ordinary citizens forces them to use a diminished space, in the sense that some of the functions of a bathroom are denied to them. Not without reason, artist Bruce Nauman has repeatedly used blue light in his installations, especially in *Natural Light, Blue Light Room*, in order to deliberately disorient the audience and cause a sense of discomfort in it. (126) In less artistic contexts, this light is also known for its uncomfortable properties, if only for hindering simple gestures.

The effect of blue lighting undeniably hinders the use of a mirror, as it alters the viewer's perception. For example, it makes it impossible to see make-up, comb one's hair or even perceive one's reflection correctly. This has also had a real impact on the feeling of the space, since the mere sight of a blue light can cause anxiety and discomfort, especially in a closed, restricted location. In effect, it announces a pre-existing problem of drug addiction and therefore insecurity. Although this may be erroneous, it is nevertheless the way that the user, confronted with such lighting, will perceive things.

Why then, one may ask, should blue neon lights be installed if their utility is not proven? Conversely, such facilities are non-existent in places that are not plagued by the presence of drug addicts and are considered safe. In addition to influencing the feelings of ordinary users, this diffuse lighting also has the disadvantage of making these particular spaces less safe, since reduced vision in them can cause falls or injuries due to impact on

126 Joseph Ketner II, *Elusive Signs: Bruce Nauman Works with Light*, (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2006), 45.
dangerous objects. (127) In short, the installation of blue neon lights is unsatisfactory for drug users and also for ordinary citizens in terms of the use that each of these populations can make of public toilets. Even admitting, for argument's sake, that this design had worked to prevent drug addicts from using public washrooms, would the result have truly been satisfying in terms of the public interest? The blue lights that deter some drug users from shooting up in public toilets have not stopped their drug use or reduced their injections. (128) At most, the result has been the shift of the problem to less monitored areas such as stairways, car parks, secondary roads, parks, abandoned lots, etc., with all the associated implications. In fact, drug addicts prevented from using public toilets were forced to take possession once again of public parks like Platzspitz or Letten, which the authorities had worked so hard to avoid.

Today, the blue light trick is disappearing in Switzerland. In fact, consultation with the urban planning services of three major cities in Switzerland confirmed our suspicion that these lights were too ineffective to justify their continued installation. Furthermore, drug addicts have found a solution to inject themselves in this light as well, using the torch on their mobile phones to counteract the effect of the blue light waves. It is therefore surprising to note that although their relative ineffectiveness has finally been noted in Switzerland, the installation of blue lights is on the increase in other countries, particularly France (129) and the United States. (130)

127 Kevin Flemen, "Blue Light Blues," 3. 128 Kevin Flemen, "Blue Light Blues," 4.

Although this review has shown that this type of device does not have the desired efficiency, the fact remains that it continues to be used, and is even increasing in some countries. Furthermore, blue lights are by no means the only example of dissuasive devices whose purpose is to induce or control certain behavior. These are also known as defensive or hostile architecture. (131) This is "the art of designing buildings, public spaces or equipment to exclude unwanted use," (132) a term that can be applied to many things ranging from legitimate concerns for the safety of users or protection of property to perverse desires to conform uses to a social norm which is no less strict for being unwritten. (133)

129 Luc Leroux, "À Marseille, la SNCF reporte son projet d'équiper de néons bleus une gare pour éloigner les toxicomanes," *Le Monde*, November 24, 2012, https://www.lemonde.fr/sante/article/2012/11/24/a-marseille-la-sncf-reporte-son-projet-d-equiper-de-neons-bleus-une-gare-pour-eloigner-les-toxicomanes_1795460_1651302.html., accessed April 20, 2019.
130 Laura Hubert, "De la lumière bleue dans les toilettes: la nouvelle arme anti drogue aux Etats-Unis," Neon Mag, June 2018, https://www.neonmag.fr/la-lumiere-bleue-pour-diminuer-les-shoots-de-drogue-dans-les-toilettes-publiques-auxetats-unis-508618.html.
131 Gordan Savicic and Selena Savic, *Upleasant Design* (Rotterdam/Vienna/Lausanne: G.L.O.R.I.A, 2013).
132 Jean-Pierre Ferrand, "Un tour du monde de l'architecture défensive'," *Sociotopes*, https://sociotopes.home.blog/2020/08/06/un-tour-du-monde-de-l-architecture-defensive/, accessed February 4, 2022.
133 Ferrand, "Un tour du monde."

<figure><img src="image_114.png" /></figure>
dangerous objects. (127) In short, the installation of blue neon lights is unsatisfactory for drug users and also for ordinary citizens in terms of the use that each of these populations can make of public toilets. Even admitting, for argument's sake, that this design had worked to prevent drug addicts from using public washrooms, would the result have truly been satisfying in terms of the public interest? The blue lights that deter some drug users from shooting up in public toilets have not stopped their drug use or reduced their injections. (128) At most, the result has been the shift of the problem to less monitored areas such as stairways, car parks, secondary roads, parks, abandoned lots, etc., with all the associated implications. In fact, drug addicts prevented from using public toilets were forced to take possession once again of public parks like Platzspitz or Letten, which the authorities had worked so hard to avoid.

Today, the blue light trick is disappearing in Switzerland. In fact, consultation with the urban planning services of three major cities in Switzerland confirmed our suspicion that these lights were too ineffective to justify their continued installation. Furthermore, drug addicts have found a solution to inject themselves in this light as well, using the torch on their mobile phones to counteract the effect of the blue light waves. It is therefore surprising to note that although their relative ineffectiveness has finally been noted in Switzerland, the installation of blue lights is on the increase in other countries, particularly France (129) and the United States. (130)

127 Kevin Flemen, "Blue Light Blues," 3. 128 Kevin Flemen, "Blue Light Blues," 4.

Although this review has shown that this type of device does not have the desired efficiency, the fact remains that it continues to be used, and is even increasing in some countries. Furthermore, blue lights are by no means the only example of dissuasive devices whose purpose is to induce or control certain behavior. These are also known as defensive or hostile architecture. (131) This is "the art of designing buildings, public spaces or equipment to exclude unwanted use," (132) a term that can be applied to many things ranging from legitimate concerns for the safety of users or protection of property to perverse desires to conform uses to a social norm which is no less strict for being unwritten. (133)

129 Luc Leroux, "À Marseille, la SNCF reporte son projet d'équiper de néons bleus une gare pour éloigner les toxicomanes," Le Monde, November 24, 2012, https://www.lemonde.fr/sante/article/2012/11/24/a-marseille-la-sncf-reporte-son-projet-d-equiper-de-neons-bleus-une-gare-pour-eloigner-les-toxicomanes_1795460_1651302.html., accessed April 20, 2019. 130 Laura Hubert, "De la lumière bleue dans les toilettes: la nouvelle arme anti drogue aux Etats-Unis," Neon Mag, June 2018, https://www.neonmag.fr/la-lumiere-bleue-pour-diminuer-les-shoots-de-drogue-dans-les-toilettes-publiques-auxetats-unis-508618.html. 131 Gordan Savicic and Selena Savic, *Upleasant Design* (Rotterdam/Vienna/Lausanne: G.L.O.R.I.A, 2013) 132 Jean-Pierre Ferrand, "Un tour du monde de l'architecture défensive'," *Sociotopes*, https://sociotopes.home.blog/2020/08/06/un-tour-du-monde-de-l-architecture-defensive/, accessed February 4, 2022. 133 Ferrand, "Un tour du monde."

<figure><img src="image_113.png" /></figure>
Seven Tales about Toilets

Renaud Haerlingen

On the one hand, Rotor is a Brussels-based research and design practice that emerged in 2005 from a shared interest in investigating the organization of the material environment. On the other hand, since around 2015, we created off Rotor Deconstruction as a cooperative company selling perfectly reusable materials reclaimed from demolition sites. This evolution came from the realization that the real estate sector discards huge quantities of materials that are not necessarily old or obsolete. Confronted with a lack of economic actors to tackle the issue, we decided to create a prototype for such a business entity. Today we have a warehouse, a workshop, a showroom and an online marketplace.

For some, Rotor is associated with the field of archi-
tecture, but in the current group of more than 25 people,
only some have studied architecture. Our collaboration
operates amongst very different profiles. It was probably
more a generational concern about resources and pre-
serving values against entropy that brought us together.
This particularity has led us to take a multitude of roles
and to operate in varied contexts.

Lobby

When Roberto Zancan told me that he was launching a
seminar on toilets, he had just called a Swiss architect

and tried to invite him but they could not have a conver-
sation because the architect stated that for him, toilets
were not an architectural topic. Somehow, I could relate
to the subject, but I did not know what to do with toilets
as a central point.

For a recent meeting, I visited the office of a high-end
creative company whose work I have known for a long
time. When I entered the lobby, in the middle, there was
an illuminated cube. Coming closer, I noticed that it con-
tained a life size replica of a toilet. As I could immediately
recognize the work of the Korean sculptor Do Ho Suh, I
did understand that it was a remarkable statement, but
at the same time, I was nonplussed by the display of a
toilet in plain sight.

I shall not build an articulated point of view on this topic,
but I can reveal how toilets have played a prominent role
in a series of our works. Have they shaped attitudes or
forged interrogations? Let me take you into a corporate
office building, a mode and design center, a carnival fac-
tory, a book gallery, the Olympic headquarters, an Italian
hospital, and through a refurbishment installation.

Meeting room antechamber

In 2015, we were called by a large real estate owner in
Belgium to visit a corporate office building on the outskirts
of Brussels. They were about to remodel some meeting
rooms and a series of facilities, so we did an inventory and
assessed which materials to reclaim. Two of the rooms we
surveyed were the toilets. They were mostly white and
well-maintained. The tapware looked contemporary and
Seven Tales about Toilets

Renaud Haerlingen

On the one hand, Rotor is a Brussels-based research and design practice that emerged in 2005 from a shared interest in investigating the organization of the material environment. On the other hand, since around 2015, we created off Rotor Deconstruction as a cooperative company selling perfectly reusable materials reclaimed from demolition sites. This evolution came from the realization that the real estate sector discards huge quantities of materials that are not necessarily old or obsolete. Confronted with a lack of economic actors to tackle the issue, we decided to create a prototype for such a business entity. Today we have a warehouse, a workshop, a showroom and an online marketplace.

For some, Rotor is associated with the field of archi-
tecture, but in the current group of more than 25 people,
only some have studied architecture. Our collaboration
operates amongst very different profiles. It was probably
more a generational concern about resources and pre-
serving values against entropy that brought us together.
This particularity has led us to take a multitude of roles
and to operate in varied contexts.

Lobby

When Roberto Zancan told me that he was launching a
seminar on toilets, he had just called a Swiss architect

and tried to invite him but they could not have a conver-
sation because the architect stated that for him, toilets
were not an architectural topic. Somehow, I could relate
to the subject, but I did not know what to do with toilets
as a central point.

For a recent meeting, I visited the office of a high-end
creative company whose work I have known for a long
time. When I entered the lobby, in the middle, there was
an illuminated cube. Coming closer, I noticed that it con-
tained a life size replica of a toilet. As I could immediately
recognize the work of the Korean sculptor Do Ho Suh, I
did understand that it was a remarkable statement, but
at the same time, I was nonplussed by the display of a
toilet in plain sight.

I shall not build an articulated point of view on this topic,
but I can reveal how toilets have played a prominent role
in a series of our works. Have they shaped attitudes or
forged interrogations? Let me take you into a corporate
office building, a mode and design center, a carnival fac-
tory, a book gallery, the Olympic headquarters, an Italian
hospital, and through a refurbishment installation.

Meeting room antechamber

In 2015, we were called by a large real estate owner in
Belgium to visit a corporate office building on the outskirts
of Brussels. They were about to remodel some meeting
rooms and a series of facilities, so we did an inventory and
assessed which materials to reclaim. Two of the rooms we
surveyed were the toilets. They were mostly white and
well-maintained. The tapware looked contemporary and
the urinals were the standard model seen everywhere. At the time, I felt confounded by the decision to demolish these toilets. Although we had seen it all before in the office world, I still struggled to think about the why. Anyhow, that was it.

We did our job, we reclaimed and distributed a collection of materials, but a few months later, I happened to go back to that building. Using the corridor and the doors that I knew, they had changed everything! They had changed the toilets but they had also included floor to ceiling mirrors. The partitioning had a wood-like finish and I understood that what had changed was the program. These toilets were on the ground floor, next to a series of meeting rooms, and it probably made sense to have a place where you could find a different atmosphere from in the atrium. Now they could act as an antechamber, and I could imagine myself in that place, preparing for something. They demolished things that were not obsolete, but I realized that they had a point in making something other than the basic toilet.

## White architecture

For the Center for Mode And Design in Brussels design competition, we joined forces with the architecture firm V+. The announced budget was six million euro, which did not sound fancy considering the size of the plot, and although the brief called for a new building, its purpose implied somewhat of a spectacle. Instead of demolishing the three ordinary buildings on the site, we won with an argument to keep them and, through minimal

transformations, to make the MAD iconic by working on the material palette of its interior! We claimed that as a kind of museum, this institution is inclined to fall into the 'white box' paradigm, but from a 'Rotorian' perspective there is no such thing as an abstract white. The materialization of such an idea happens through all kinds of shades. White paint is different from white marble, and white rubber feels different from white fabrics. Our goal became to design a most extraordinary white box made of a rich display of white textures.

We enjoyed calling countless construction materials companies to ask for samples of their white products. This built up into a very beautiful collection of whites. But to develop this kind of project, we had chosen to collaborate with a technical consulting company, then it went into the hands of a general contractor through a public tendering process, and these partners, along with the time and budget constraints, seemed to resist our ambition to do many things.

For the toilets, we did careful studies, questioning the where and how to hang your bag or your jacket once in the cubicle, we considered changing the generic doorknobs with porcelain ones, we explored the lighting possibilities, etc. We ended up with a complete project built around exotic low-cost fluorescent tubes with flowery shapes, but... we never submitted those files. Because it was the toilet, we felt like the busy meetings had no time for them.

The only idea we could pass through the construction documentation process was a proposal for the tiling. We imagined using absolutely generic 10 by 10 cm or 15 by 15 cm white tiles, with the twist that many companies

<figure><img src="image_115.png" /></figure>
the urinals were the standard model seen everywhere. At the time, I felt confounded by the decision to demolish these toilets. Although we had seen it all before in the office world, I still struggled to think about the why. Anyhow, that was it.

We did our job, we reclaimed and distributed a collection of materials, but a few months later, I happened to go back to that building. Using the corridor and the doors that I knew, they had changed everything! They had changed the toilets but they had also included floor to ceiling mirrors. The partitioning had a wood-like finish and I understood that what had changed was the program. These toilets were on the ground floor, next to a series of meeting rooms, and it probably made sense to have a place where you could find a different atmosphere from in the atrium. Now they could act as an antechamber, and I could imagine myself in that place, preparing for something. They demolished things that were not obsolete, but I realized that they had a point in making something other than the basic toilet.

## White architecture

For the Center for Mode And Design in Brussels design competition, we joined forces with the architecture firm V+. The announced budget was six million euro, which did not sound fancy considering the size of the plot, and although the brief called for a new building, its purpose implied somewhat of a spectacle. Instead of demolishing the three ordinary buildings on the site, we won with an argument to keep them and, through minimal

transformations, to make the MAD iconic by working on the material palette of its interior! We claimed that as a kind of museum, this institution is inclined to fall into the 'white box' paradigm, but from a 'Rotorian' perspective there is no such thing as an abstract white. The materialization of such an idea happens through all kinds of shades. White paint is different from white marble, and white rubber feels different from white fabrics. Our goal became to design a most extraordinary white box made of a rich display of white textures.

We enjoyed calling countless construction materials companies to ask for samples of their white products. This built up into a very beautiful collection of whites. But to develop this kind of project, we had chosen to collaborate with a technical consulting company, then it went into the hands of a general contractor through a public tendering process, and these partners, along with the time and budget constraints, seemed to resist our ambition to do many things.

For the toilets, we did careful studies, questioning the where and how to hang your bag or your jacket once in the cubicle, we considered changing the generic doorknobs with porcelain ones, we explored the lighting possibilities, etc. We ended up with a complete project built around exotic low-cost fluorescent tubes with flowery shapes, but... we never submitted those files. Because it was the toilet, we felt like the busy meetings had no time for them.

The only idea we could pass through the construction documentation process was a proposal for the tiling. We imagined using absolutely generic 10 by 10 cm or 15 by 15 cm white tiles, with the twist that many companies

<figure><img src="image_114.png" /></figure>
have their own basic white tile and they would slightly differ one from another. Our intention was that the contractor would buy several batches of white tiles from different producers and combine them randomly to build a texture with subtle variations. On site, the contractor purged the idea out of its curiosity for the manufacturing process, and they simply ordered three 'variations' of white from one catalog. Sadly, the result is poor! But because it was just the toilets, there was no room for argument.

## Balancing the rough

In Brussels, the Zinneke Parade has been an institution since 2000. For many years its headquarters have been installed in temporary locations, but recently they moved to a site that they can renovate to suit their long-term needs. Zinneke's main public agenda is the organization of a big parade in the city once every two years, but this very special moment is mostly a pretext to foster social interactions in the neighborhoods along the way. For the parade itself, they need to build mobile structures, set up a metal workshop, and provide qualitative teaching. To develop other projects, they wanted to share the 2000 m² space they are responsible for as part of their willingness to support collective initiatives. The place is intentionally run on a low budget in order to facilitate broad inclusivity and ease the threshold for entering the place.

In such a context, a lot depends on people's willingness to tolerate the roughness of the situation and deal with the traces of others. If this is recognized and assumed, it could eventually limit the renovations and management expecta-

tions. But there have to be compromises most of the time, and we tried to push the argument that when you have to care for your own intimacy, it should be super-comfortable and over-deliver. This might reconcile one's relations with the otherwise non-pristine state of the building.

This renovation had been profiled as an exemplary project for the reuse of construction materials, so Rotor was intimately involved in the design. However, in our role as a specialist consultant, we did need to hire an architecture firm through a competition. We lost track of the jury designation process, and the job was given to a couple of young architects. Friendly, but possibly more concerned about their portfolio than curious for architecture and materiality.

From our side, we pushed for the showers and toilet spaces to be special and refined. In a playful tone, we suggested that the bathroom in the basement could eventually evolve into the typical Japanese common bath installation known as *Onsen*. It would be so much nicer than lockers and showers! The renovation project has a tight budget, but couldn't we choose to afford just that one? For the toilets, we proposed to articulate the space around a large handwashing fountain that we could find on the reuse market. Then we associated this idea with an exploration of the regulation for toilets with the hand washbasin included in a complete entity which would allow for the fountain room to be a mixed area. With such a layout, these toilets would turn into a kind of underground lobby connected to the courtyard.

For a while, we enjoyed having these perspectives in the plans, but when the architects took over, the idea of compensating for the roughness of the overall project was

<figure><img src="image_116.png" /></figure>

INTIMACY EXPOSED ROTOR: Seven Tales about Toilets Renaud Haerlingen
have their own basic white tile and they would slightly differ one from another. Our intention was that the contractor would buy several batches of white tiles from different producers and combine them randomly to build a texture with subtle variations. On site, the contractor purged the idea out of its curiosity for the manufacturing process, and they simply ordered three 'variations' of white from one catalog. Sadly, the result is poor! But because it was just the toilets, there was no room for argument.

## Balancing the rough

In Brussels, the Zinneke Parade has been an institution since 2000. For many years its headquarters have been installed in temporary locations, but recently they moved to a site that they can renovate to suit their long-term needs. Zinneke's main public agenda is the organization of a big parade in the city once every two years, but this very special moment is mostly a pretext to foster social interactions in the neighborhoods along the way. For the parade itself, they need to build mobile structures, set up a metal workshop, and provide qualitative teaching. To develop other projects, they wanted to share the 2000 m² space they are responsible for as part of their willingness to support collective initiatives. The place is intentionally run on a low budget in order to facilitate broad inclusivity and ease the threshold for entering the place.

In such a context, a lot depends on people's willingness to tolerate the roughness of the situation and deal with the traces of others. If this is recognized and assumed, it could eventually limit the renovations and management expecta-

tions. But there have to be compromises most of the time, and we tried to push the argument that when you have to care for your own intimacy, it should be super-comfortable and over-deliver. This might reconcile one's relations with the otherwise non-pristine state of the building.

This renovation had been profiled as an exemplary project for the reuse of construction materials, so Rotor was intimately involved in the design. However, in our role as a specialist consultant, we did need to hire an architecture firm through a competition. We lost track of the jury designation process, and the job was given to a couple of young architects. Friendly, but possibly more concerned about their portfolio than curious for architecture and materiality.

From our side, we pushed for the showers and toilet spaces to be special and refined. In a playful tone, we suggested that the bathroom in the basement could eventually evolve into the typical Japanese common bath installation known as *Onsen*. It would be so much nicer than lockers and showers! The renovation project has a tight budget, but couldn't we choose to afford just that one? For the toilets, we proposed to articulate the space around a large handwashing fountain that we could find on the reuse market. Then we associated this idea with an exploration of the regulation for toilets with the hand washbasin included in a complete entity which would allow for the fountain room to be a mixed area. With such a layout, these toilets would turn into a kind of underground lobby connected to the courtyard.

For a while, we enjoyed having these perspectives in the plans, but when the architects took over, the idea of compensating for the roughness of the overall project was

<figure><img src="image_115.png" /></figure>

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** ROTOR: Seven Tales about Toilets | Renaud Haerlingen
<figure><img src="image_117.png" /></figure>

lost. My perception was that they accepted that for a low budget, their reference could be the showers at camping grounds, which is what it became, and the toilets turned out to be a corridor with a very conventional division.

In the end, we could only be the ‘reuse consultant’ and we presented the collection of reclaimed materials in a showroom to be integrated with the project. Of course, we reclaimed toilet bowls, so everybody seemed happy at the table, but all the same, I’m glad to report on the story of our motivations for reconsidering the bathroom.

## Serving a book gallery

After spending many years working for European institutions in Brussels, Mr. Parodi came up with a project for a bookstore that would offer novels in every language used in the EU. To design the place with a sensitivity for the environmental footprint, he asked Rotor for support. His idea was also that the use of reclaimed furniture and materials would give the place an identity. We started by touring Rotor's warehouse and curated a collection of elements: cupboards from a laboratory, ceiling lamps from a bank canteen, shelves from an old library, an architectural false-ceiling in wood and a solid oak parquet. Then we made a furnished model of the space, but the shop had an irregular geometry and it didn't look good.

His radical idea was that the shop should feel like a gallery, with one big table to present 25 books in 25 languages. So, although he believed Rotor should only use pre-existing materials, we had the feeling that the project would be better if it felt more like a single space.

We argued for the construction of an open wall that would establish a secondary space. This would be an area to serve food and drink on special occasions, and it would carefully frame the entrance to the bathroom and the small kitchen. This in-between space became surprisingly important for us, and we found ourselves worrying over the details of the interior design. It had to have wallpaper, preferably blue!

We started the process of choosing the new material. We looked at catalogs, we asked for samples, but with only a few weeks before the store opened, we still hadn't received many replies and we felt like there were many more options than the ones we could consider. All in all, it was a rather frustrating process, but we eventually signed off for one reference with the client, and that was going to be it.

A few days later, we received an email from our colleague Benjamin Lasserre with the text, "It's a win!", along with a series of photos showing a strange setting with people wearing white clothes and pasting impressive wallpaper in a shop.

Benjamin is a scenographer and he followed through with a late-night idea of earlier days. He went to the Opera, and asked some technicians if they had any discarded backdrop paintings from a performance that could be used as wallpaper. The guys unfolded a spectacular scene, luckily quite blueish, and in exchange for bottles of champagne, he made a deal with them to come and install the painting on the wall. The result was beyond our expectations, and the toilets and services area became the prize feature of this project.

<figure><img src="image_118.png" /><figcaption>INTIMACY EXPOSED ROTOR: Seven Tales about Toilets Renaud Haerlingen</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_116.png" /></figure>

lost. My perception was that they accepted that for a low budget, their reference could be the showers at camping grounds, which is what it became, and the toilets turned out to be a corridor with a very conventional division.

In the end, we could only be the ‘reuse consultant’ and we presented the collection of reclaimed materials in a showroom to be integrated with the project. Of course, we reclaimed toilet bowls, so everybody seemed happy at the table, but all the same, I’m glad to report on the story of our motivations for reconsidering the bathroom.

## Serving a book gallery

After spending many years working for European institutions in Brussels, Mr. Parodi came up with a project for a bookstore that would offer novels in every language used in the EU. To design the place with a sensitivity for the environmental footprint, he asked Rotor for support. His idea was also that the use of reclaimed furniture and materials would give the place an identity. We started by touring Rotor's warehouse and curated a collection of elements: cupboards from a laboratory, ceiling lamps from a bank canteen, shelves from an old library, an architectural false-ceiling in wood and a solid oak parquet. Then we made a furnished model of the space, but the shop had an irregular geometry and it didn't look good.

His radical idea was that the shop should feel like a gallery, with one big table to present 25 books in 25 languages. So, although he believed Rotor should only use pre-existing materials, we had the feeling that the project would be better if it felt more like a single space.

We argued for the construction of an open wall that would establish a secondary space. This would be an area to serve food and drink on special occasions, and it would carefully frame the entrance to the bathroom and the small kitchen. This in-between space became surprisingly important for us, and we found ourselves worrying over the details of the interior design. It had to have wallpaper, preferably blue!

We started the process of choosing the new material. We looked at catalogs, we asked for samples, but with only a few weeks before the store opened, we still hadn't received many replies and we felt like there were many more options than the ones we could consider. All in all, it was a rather frustrating process, but we eventually signed off for one reference with the client, and that was going to be it.

A few days later, we received an email from our colleague Benjamin Lasserre with the text, "It's a win!", along with a series of photos showing a strange setting with people wearing white clothes and pasting impressive wallpaper in a shop.

Benjamin is a scenographer and he followed through with a late-night idea of earlier days. He went to the Opera, and asked some technicians if they had any discarded backdrop paintings from a performance that could be used as wallpaper. The guys unfolded a spectacular scene, luckily quite blueish, and in exchange for bottles of champagne, he made a deal with them to come and install the painting on the wall. The result was beyond our expectations, and the toilets and services area became the prize feature of this project.

<figure><img src="image_117.png" /><figcaption>INTIMACY EXPOSED ROTOR: Seven Tales about Toilets Renaud Haerlingen</figcaption></figure>
When the International Olympic Committee decided to demolish their office building in Lausanne to build new and larger headquarters, they knew that as a public institution, they had to do the right thing. A *deconstruction task force* was set up, and under the umbrella of an EPFL student workshop, we've been invited to assess the reuse potential.

The group of experts had designed an ambitious plan to sort the demolition waste properly and proceed with a large percentage of recycling, but they could not see materials being reused within their conception of the Swiss context. If anything, they mentioned the white marble cladding in the main hall. World leaders and important people had been here, and sometimes it was even engraved with rings in an allusion to the prestigious Olympic logo. Their second focus was the Salle Pierre de Coubertin, where Olympic decisions have been taken. This was an important room, so could the materials be somewhat precious?

Symbolism was uppermost in their minds, but we explained that the reuse perspective is more diverse and slightly more complex. It depends on the material's dismountability, a series of logistical steps and the identification of a potential demand. Most of the time, relevance cannot be judged on the basis of the appearance of things. It often requires hands-on testing and the results of this investigation are often counter-intuitive.

We tested dismantling the marble, and beneath its apparent unity there were three different attachment systems. On most of the surface, the stone had been glued directly to partition walls with an epoxy composite, and only in

INTIMACY EXPOSED ROTOR: Seven Tales about Toilets Renaud Haerlingen

some areas was it secured at a distance from the wall with metallic studs that we could cut. Also, we discovered from the original construction documents that it was Brazilian stone and not an exceptionally renowned marble.

We then entered the bathrooms and encountered a large series of cutely-shaped washbasins in very good state, branded with the name of a leading Swiss company. As expected, dismounting was smooth and they joined the collection of elements that proved to be reclaimable.

Parallel to this inventory, the students searched for 'demand' and made a list of actors potentially interested in these resources. One of them was Pro-Maison, a social enterprise based in Lausanne which regularly supplies plumbers with second-hand materials for social housing repairs. It was immediately agreed that they would take the collection of sanitary appliances. This marked a significant achievement for the *deconstruction task force*. A few months later, I visited their shop and was pleased to find the IOC wash basins for sale. They even had a significant market value, with a price tag of 180 CHF for the mid-sized items.

## Toilet cisterns in Prato

The municipality of Prato in Italy called an international competition to turn the site of its old hospital into a large central park. It needed to demolish the existing building, and invited Rotor to join the project. We were commissioned to make an inventory of what could be reused and eventually think about the design of a small pavilion. So, we went there and did our survey.
When the International Olympic Committee decided to demolish their office building in Lausanne to build new and larger headquarters, they knew that as a public institution, they had to do the right thing. A deconstruction task force was set up, and under the umbrella of an EPFL student workshop, we've been invited to assess the reuse potential.

The group of experts had designed an ambitious plan to sort the demolition waste properly and proceed with a large percentage of recycling, but they could not see materials being reused within their conception of the Swiss context. If anything, they mentioned the white marble cladding in the main hall. World leaders and important people had been here, and sometimes it was even engraved with rings in an allusion to the prestigious Olympic logo. Their second focus was the Salle Pierre de Coubertin, where Olympic decisions have been taken. This was an important room, so could the materials be somewhat precious?

Symbolism was uppermost in their minds, but we explained that the reuse perspective is more diverse and slightly more complex. It depends on the material's dismountability, a series of logistical steps and the identification of a potential demand. Most of the time, relevance cannot be judged on the basis of the appearance of things. It often requires hands-on testing and the results of this investigation are often counter-intuitive.

We tested dismantling the marble, and beneath its apparent unity there were three different attachment systems. On most of the surface, the stone had been glued directly to partition walls with an epoxy composite, and only in

INTIMACY EXPOSED ROTOR: Seven Tales about Toilets Renaud Haerlingen

some areas was it secured at a distance from the wall with metallic studs that we could cut. Also, we discovered from the original construction documents that it was Brazilian stone and not an exceptionally renowned marble.

We then entered the bathrooms and encountered a large series of cutely-shaped washbasins in very good state, branded with the name of a leading Swiss company. As expected, dismounting was smooth and they joined the collection of elements that proved to be reclaimable.

Parallel to this inventory, the students searched for 'demand' and made a list of actors potentially interested in these resources. One of them was Pro-Maison, a social enterprise based in Lausanne which regularly supplies plumbers with second-hand materials for social housing repairs. It was immediately agreed that they would take the collection of sanitary appliances. This marked a significant achievement for the deconstruction task force. A few months later, I visited their shop and was pleased to find the IOC wash basins for sale. They even had a significant market value, with a price tag of 180 CHF for the mid-sized items.

## Toilet cisterns in Prato

The municipality of Prato in Italy called an international competition to turn the site of its old hospital into a large central park. It needed to demolish the existing building, and invited Rotor to join the project. We were commissioned to make an inventory of what could be reused and eventually think about the design of a small pavilion. So, we went there and did our survey.
<figure><img src="image_119.png" /></figure>

In the hospital we discovered some funny elements like a collection of dismountable colored handrails, lots of different doors, cast iron radiators and some stone, but on the whole nothing very precious. It was a properly worn-out public building.

During this mission, we had a sudden crush on the old water cisterns for flushing the toilets! There were two models, both of them seductive. Although we still didn't know what their potential use could be, because this kind of system is mostly obsolete today, we included them in the sanitary equipment page of the document anyway, simply listed as "a very beautiful shape".

## Re-circulating toilet bowls

As much as Rotor Deconstruction is a reclamation and trade business, it is also a research entity that allows us to explore the limits of what can possibly be reclaimed from pre-existing stocks. At the time of this invitation, we had received an invitation from *Vlaanderen Circulair* to explore the feasibility of reclaiming and refurbishing porcelain toilet bowls and urinals. Our goal was to set up an installation that could process an initial batch of about 100 items for a big project in Brussels.

We collected used bowls with traces of wear and tear, and the first thing we learned about them is that it's not so much the visible part of the object that is worrisome. Above all it is the astonishing calcium carbonate scales that form in the boxed rims and ducts of the bowls that need to be properly dissolved in order to justify an extended lifespan. This project was led by Daniel van Drimmelen,

a colleague with a background in bio-engineering, who methodically tested the reactions of several soft acids on the limestone and the porcelain. He eventually settled for the relatively cheap *Strip-A-Way Powder* that is activated by pumping air bubbles into a bath. Beyond the laboratory exploration, to streamline the process, he set up a workshop with an overhead crane and standardized safety measures. Finally, the bath lifetime, additional cleaning and packaging issues were fine-tuned and we were able to supply the original order.

The results of the research have been published in a report, and we have reached an almost competitive price. Nevertheless, with generic low-cost bowls readily available, the current conclusion for Rotor is that it is still too expensive to refurbish toilets in this semi-artisan way.

<figure><img src="image_120.png" /><figcaption>INTIMACY EXPOSED ROTOR: Seven Tales about Toilets Renaud Haerlingen</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_118.png" /></figure>

In the hospital we discovered some funny elements like a collection of dismountable colored handrails, lots of different doors, cast iron radiators and some stone, but on the whole nothing very precious. It was a properly worn-out public building.

During this mission, we had a sudden crush on the old water cisterns for flushing the toilets! There were two models, both of them seductive. Although we still didn't know what their potential use could be, because this kind of system is mostly obsolete today, we included them in the sanitary equipment page of the document anyway, simply listed as "a very beautiful shape".

## Re-circulating toilet bowls

As much as Rotor Deconstruction is a reclamation and trade business, it is also a research entity that allows us to explore the limits of what can possibly be reclaimed from pre-existing stocks. At the time of this invitation, we had received an invitation from *Vlaanderen Circulair* to explore the feasibility of reclaiming and refurbishing porcelain toilet bowls and urinals. Our goal was to set up an installation that could process an initial batch of about 100 items for a big project in Brussels.

We collected used bowls with traces of wear and tear, and the first thing we learned about them is that it's not so much the visible part of the object that is worrisome. Above all it is the astonishing calcium carbonate scales that form in the boxed rims and ducts of the bowls that need to be properly dissolved in order to justify an extended lifespan. This project was led by Daniel van Drimmelen,

a colleague with a background in bio-engineering, who methodically tested the reactions of several soft acids on the limestone and the porcelain. He eventually settled for the relatively cheap *Strip-A-Way Powder* that is activated by pumping air bubbles into a bath. Beyond the laboratory exploration, to streamline the process, he set up a workshop with an overhead crane and standardized safety measures. Finally, the bath lifetime, additional cleaning and packaging issues were fine-tuned and we were able to supply the original order.

The results of the research have been published in a report, and we have reached an almost competitive price. Nevertheless, with generic low-cost bowls readily available, the current conclusion for Rotor is that it is still too expensive to refurbish toilets in this semi-artisan way.

<figure><img src="image_119.png" /><figcaption>INTIMACY EXPOSED ROTOR: Seven Tales about Toilets Renaud Haerlingen</figcaption></figure>
## DEVICES, SPACES, ACTIONS AND PLACES FOR BODY CARE

elii's (134) works through Toilets.

Eva Gil Lopesino

Intimacy Exposed. Toilet, Bathroom, Restroom could not be more relevant or current. Examples of this abound. At the Reinvented Toilet Expo in Beijing (China), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation made the worldwide presentation of part of the research they have been carrying out for seven years on the development of an "off the grid" or "off-grid" toilet that needs no water and is not connected to plumbing and sewer systems. (135) The toilet has even been shortlisted as one of the fifteen devices that, according to Rem Koolhaas and his Fundamentals exhibition for the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale (2014), have configured architecture since its very start. Indeed, growing interest in the subject can be found in academic circles such as the inaugural theme of Room Journal, (136) whose first issue was devoted to the concept of the bathroom and included articles by artists, writers, and architects. These are only a few of the examples that witness the growing interest in having this device included in the narrative of the history of architecture.

It was noted that the word toilet was of French origin and is used in much of the Western world to refer to public or private spaces where people expose their bodies to perform a variety of actions, from the most basic and functionalist for evacuating bodily fluids by urinating or defecating to other, more sophisticated but less immediate ones such

as putting on makeup, combing or brushing one's hair, talking on the phone, having a smoke, reading, hiding, having sex, taking drugs, pumping out breast milk, chatting or taking a daily break, murdering, chopping up the dead body, or even generating your own energy, as we will see in a few examples further on.

If we look at how the meaning of the word toilet has changed over time, it may help us come up with a classification of some of the works at elii that address their construction and thus better understand these technological devices, these places, usually indoors, called toilets, bathrooms, or restrooms, where the body and its care take the lead role. In fact, the original meaning of the word in the French dictionary in 1763 (137) described toilet as a small piece of cloth or canvas placed on top of a shelf along with other toiletries (i.e., objects for cleaning and being in contact with the body), a two-dimensional object, a plane, where the basic unit of measure was surface area (m²s). Later, the word came to be used to designate a larger, three-dimensional object, a piece of furniture where the basic unit of measure was length (m) to give us the dimensions of the object (i.e., an object on which the body rests). It went on to refer to a separate, private three-dimensional volumetric place or room (138) where the basic unit of measure was volume (m³) (i.e., a space that embraces and encloses the body and that is occupied by the body). What we know as the toilet today may be considered a setting, a complex atmosphere, a meeting place that crystallizes and materializes many of the contemporary concerns regarding architecture and its most intimate relationship with the bodies of those who inhabit it.

<footnote n="134">134 architecture office 135 See Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, "Bill Gates Launches Reinvented Toilet Expo Showcasing New Pathogen-Killing Sanitation Products That Don't Require Sewers or Water Lines," November 6, 2018, https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2018/11/Bill-Gates-Launches-Reinvented-Toilet-Expo-Showcasing-New-Pathogen-Killing-Sanitation-Products., accessed December 6, 2018.</footnote>

<footnote n="136">136 See *Room Journal: The Bathroom* (Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 2019). 137 Formerly the *toilet* was simply a small canvas, as defined in *Dictionnaire universel frangais et latin, vulgairement appelé Dictionnaire de Trévoux* (Paris: La Compagnie des Libraires Associés, 1762).</footnote>

<footnote n="138">138 As mentioned in the poem *Don Juan*, by Lord Byron in 1819, the toilet was: "a private room for dressing later with a toilet bowl. [...] There is the closet, there the toilet" Lord Byron, *Don Juan*, (London: Thomas Davison, 1819-21), 79.</footnote>
## DEVICES, SPACES, ACTIONS AND PLACES FOR BODY CARE

elii's (134) works through Toilets.

Eva Gil Lopesino

Intimacy Exposed. Toilet, Bathroom, Restroom could not be more relevant or current. Examples of this abound. At the Reinvented Toilet Expo in Beijing (China), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation made the worldwide presentation of part of the research they have been carrying out for seven years on the development of an "off the grid" or "off-grid" toilet that needs no water and is not connected to plumbing and sewer systems. (135) The toilet has even been shortlisted as one of the fifteen devices that, according to Rem Koolhaas and his Fundamentals exhibition for the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale (2014), have configured architecture since its very start. Indeed, growing interest in the subject can be found in academic circles such as the inaugural theme of Room Journal, (136) whose first issue was devoted to the concept of the bathroom and included articles by artists, writers, and architects. These are only a few of the examples that witness the growing interest in having this device included in the narrative of the history of architecture.

It was noted that the word toilet was of French origin and is used in much of the Western world to refer to public or private spaces where people expose their bodies to perform a variety of actions, from the most basic and functionalist for evacuating bodily fluids by urinating or defecating to other, more sophisticated but less immediate ones such

as putting on makeup, combing or brushing one's hair, talking on the phone, having a smoke, reading, hiding, having sex, taking drugs, pumping out breast milk, chatting or taking a daily break, murdering, chopping up the dead body, or even generating your own energy, as we will see in a few examples further on.

If we look at how the meaning of the word toilet has changed over time, it may help us come up with a classification of some of the works at elii that address their construction and thus better understand these technological devices, these places, usually indoors, called toilets, bathrooms, or restrooms, where the body and its care take the lead role. In fact, the original meaning of the word in the French dictionary in 1763 (137) described toilet as a small piece of cloth or canvas placed on top of a shelf along with other toiletries (i.e., objects for cleaning and being in contact with the body), a two-dimensional object, a plane, where the basic unit of measure was surface area (m²s). Later, the word came to be used to designate a larger, three-dimensional object, a piece of furniture where the basic unit of measure was length (m) to give us the dimensions of the object (i.e., an object on which the body rests). It went on to refer to a separate, private three-dimensional volumetric place or room (138) where the basic unit of measure was volume (m³) (i.e., a space that embraces and encloses the body and that is occupied by the body). What we know as the toilet today may be considered a setting, a complex atmosphere, a meeting place that crystallizes and materializes many of the contemporary concerns regarding architecture and its most intimate relationship with the bodies of those who inhabit it.

<footnote n="134">134 architecture office 135 See Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, "Bill Gates Launches Reinvented Toilet Expo Showcasing New Pathogen-Killing Sanitation Products That Don't Require Sewers or Water Lines," November 6, 2018, https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2018/11/Bill-Gates-Launches-Reinvented-Toilet-Expo-Showcasing-New-Pathogen-Killing-Sanitation-Products., accessed December 6, 2018.</footnote>

<footnote n="136">136 See *Room Journal: The Bathroom* (Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 2019). 137 Formerly the *toilet* was simply a small canvas, as defined in *Dictionnaire universel frangais et latin, vulgairement appelé Dictionnaire de Trévoux* (Paris: La Compagnie des Libraires Associés, 1762).</footnote>

<footnote n="138">138 As mentioned in the poem *Don Juan*, by Lord Byron in 1819, the toilet was: "a private room for dressing later with a toilet bowl. [...] There is the closet, there the toilet" Lord Byron, *Don Juan*, (London: Thomas Davison, 1819-21), 79.</footnote>
the word toilet mutated and enlarged its radius of action and effect, going from referring to a plane, then to an object, then to a room, and finally to a complex contemporary setting full of other things.

Another possible classification for us to arrange our ideas around what a toilet is for the work carried out at elii can be taken from the eleventh volume of *Elements of Architecture*, by OMA, already mentioned above, (139) in which the concept was included as one of the fifteen points of reference or elements that architecture deals with and that acts as a link between it and the clients as well as society.

The eleventh book of the collection associated with the exhibition, also called Toilet, and contained a reflection by the curator, Rem Koolhaas, on this element: never before had the bathroom, the restroom, the head, the WC or the toilet ever been included in an architectural treatise as a primordial element. (140) The text established a possible classification based on the evolution of the word toilet as a configuring element of architectures: first the toilet referred to an object (a complex technological device) [“the discrete device itself”], then it meant a room (a space or compartment) [“the room in which it is situated”] then ended up alluding to an action (a complex environment of relations and actions) [“the act of cleansing”]. (141)

We will use this classification proposed by Rem Koolhaas while also relying on the evolution of the term described by Zancan to list some of the work of our office regarding the toilet concept in order to better explain some of the proposals made by elii over the last ten years.

Writing this text, we were reminded of the words of the Spanish artist and designer César Manrique who affirmed that the bathroom was the only indispensable place in a dwelling. It was the room or place where you normally started the day and where you finished it, so the place had to be cozy and comfortable enough to be able to host a business meeting. For Manrique, the toilet had to be able to host a social and collective encounter, not only because of its physical dimensions but also because of the sophistication of its design and layout. The bathrooms of his architectural designs had large dimensions and exuded hedonism in their conception. According to Violeta Izquierdo, César Manrique did not conceive bathrooms as secondary places. instead he endowed them with artistic category, blurring the distinction between indoors and outdoors, between the intimate and the public, breaking those physical and visual limits. (142) These rooms are spaces for taking care of the body and relationships. Moreover, if, as the World Toilet Organization (WTO) states, we use the bathroom six to eight times a day (143) in Western culture, we should as designers reconsider this room as a primordial element in our daily lives and a device worthy of our devoting time and attention to its conception. In the work done by the office especially regarding domestic spaces, we have always tried to pay special attention to these devices, spaces and environments of body care, addressing its design with care.

<footnote n="139">139 Irma Boom et al., *Elements of Architecture: Toilet*, vol. 11 (Venice: Marsilio Editori, 2014). 140 See Boom et al., *Elements of Architecture: Toilet*, 1103.</footnote>

<footnote n="141">141 Boom et al., *Elements of Architecture: Toilet*, 1103. 142 Violeta Izquierdo, *La obra artística de César Manrique*, (Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 1996). 143 See World Toilet Organization, *Advocacy Guideraising. A Stink for a World Toilet Day* (World Toilet Organization, 2015).</footnote>
the word toilet mutated and enlarged its radius of action and effect, going from referring to a plane, then to an object, then to a room, and finally to a complex contemporary setting full of other things.

Another possible classification for us to arrange our ideas around what a toilet is for the work carried out at elii can be taken from the eleventh volume of *Elements of Architecture*, by OMA, already mentioned above, (139) in which the concept was included as one of the fifteen points of reference or elements that architecture deals with and that acts as a link between it and the clients as well as society.

The eleventh book of the collection associated with the exhibition, also called Toilet, and contained a reflection by the curator, Rem Koolhaas, on this element: never before had the bathroom, the restroom, the head, the WC or the toilet ever been included in an architectural treatise as a primordial element. (140) The text established a possible classification based on the evolution of the word toilet as a configuring element of architectures: first the toilet referred to an object (a complex technological device) [“the discrete device itself”], then it meant a room (a space or compartment) [“the room in which it is situated”] then ended up alluding to an action (a complex environment of relations and actions) [“the act of cleansing”]. (141)

We will use this classification proposed by Rem Koolhaas while also relying on the evolution of the term described by Zancan to list some of the work of our office regarding the toilet concept in order to better explain some of the proposals made by elii over the last ten years.

Writing this text, we were reminded of the words of the Spanish artist and designer César Manrique who affirmed that the bathroom was the only indispensable place in a dwelling. It was the room or place where you normally started the day and where you finished it, so the place had to be cozy and comfortable enough to be able to host a business meeting. For Manrique, the toilet had to be able to host a social and collective encounter, not only because of its physical dimensions but also because of the sophistication of its design and layout. The bathrooms of his architectural designs had large dimensions and exuded hedonism in their conception. According to Violeta Izquierdo, César Manrique did not conceive bathrooms as secondary places. instead he endowed them with artistic category, blurring the distinction between indoors and outdoors, between the intimate and the public, breaking those physical and visual limits. (142) These rooms are spaces for taking care of the body and relationships. Moreover, if, as the World Toilet Organization (WTO) states, we use the bathroom six to eight times a day (143) in Western culture, we should as designers reconsider this room as a primordial element in our daily lives and a device worthy of our devoting time and attention to its conception. In the work done by the office especially regarding domestic spaces, we have always tried to pay special attention to these devices, spaces and environments of body care, addressing its design with care.

<footnote n="139">139 Irma Boom et al., *Elements of Architecture: Toilet*, vol. 11 (Venice: Marsilio Editori, 2014). 140 See Boom et al., *Elements of Architecture: Toilet*, 1103.</footnote>

<footnote n="141">141 Boom et al., *Elements of Architecture: Toilet*, 1103. 142 Violeta Izquierdo, *La obra artística de César Manrique*, (Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 1996). 143 See World Toilet Organization, *Advocacy Guideraising. A Stink for a World Toilet Day* (World Toilet Organization, 2015).</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_121.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_122.png" /></figure>

## Toilet as an object/as a technological device

Some of the projects by elii develop on the idea that our day-to-day life is a kind of soap opera. Especially in domestic spaces, elii works on many projects with the idea that "each house is a theatre", comparing domestic space with a stage where architecture is its backdrop. People perform and rehearse their new lives in these spaces for the recreation of domestic fictions. In many of our projects, the spatial devices we occupy are designed as transformable stage settings designed for the choreography, rehearsal, action and fiction of our everyday lives. These objects are equipped to further intensify the performative experience of the bodies of their users, to test and question their social roles and the limits of the shared, to rehearse common imaginaries, to analyze their subjectivity and to explore the potential of the ordinary.

In the work 097-Yojigen Poketto (literally, 'pocket of the fourth dimension', which is the name of the Japanese anime character Doraemon's pocket, the one from which he pulls out amazing items from the future) the toilet-object was configured to maximize the volume of the habitable space in the refurbishment of an early-20th century apartment in downtown Madrid. The entire toilet-device was raised 90 centimeters above the original floor level of the dwelling to allow 'extra' functions to be integrated into the domestic space, such as a bathtub deeper than the ones sold on the market, some of the plumbing and sewage installations, some of the storage of the home, etc., thereby optimizing every cubic meter of the house. Although the toilet-device is described by its basic units

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

<figure><img src="image_123.png" /></figure>

of length measurements in meters (m), it is designed to maximize the volumetric conditions of the environment in which it is inscribed (m³). Furthermore, when the floor level of the device was raised, it put one of the original windows of the facade directly in line with the bathroom floor, letting natural light stream through the adjacent area for the toilet fixture (and perhaps bathing the bodies seated on it) and through the regular infinite white and red grid that covered every surface of the object, the floor and the walls of the device in an attempt to undo their physical limits to make the space larger while also making the built-in bathtub. With that same logic of dissolving the limits between the intimate and the more public and shared, as Manrique did, the partition dividing the toilet-object from the living room consists of a movable translucent and transparent sheet of glass to physically and visually relate both areas that lets the actions on both side of the plane be discerned and shared.

The refurbishment 106·Oki of a residential unit in Madrid in the 1980s, the toilet-device was configured as an object enveloping the bodies of its occupants, using the curve as its basic geometry, as in the rest of the project, to build a seat in the shower area. The toilet-object, in this case meant to be enjoyed by only one person, rested on the curve that originated all the middle space of the room in the apartment, with all the other rooms articulated around it. The toilet-device came about as a result of the negotiation between the dimensions of the body it was to house

<figure><img src="image_124.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_120.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_121.png" /></figure>

## Toilet as an object/as a technological device

Some of the projects by elii develop on the idea that our day-to-day life is a kind of soap opera. Especially in domestic spaces, elii works on many projects with the idea that "each house is a theatre", comparing domestic space with a stage where architecture is its backdrop. People perform and rehearse their new lives in these spaces for the recreation of domestic fictions. In many of our projects, the spatial devices we occupy are designed as transformable stage settings designed for the choreography, rehearsal, action and fiction of our everyday lives. These objects are equipped to further intensify the performative experience of the bodies of their users, to test and question their social roles and the limits of the shared, to rehearse common imaginaries, to analyze their subjectivity and to explore the potential of the ordinary.

In the work 097-Yojigen Poketto (literally, 'pocket of the fourth dimension', which is the name of the Japanese anime character Doraemon's pocket, the one from which he pulls out amazing items from the future) the toilet-object was configured to maximize the volume of the habitable space in the refurbishment of an early-20th century apartment in downtown Madrid. The entire toilet-device was raised 90 centimeters above the original floor level of the dwelling to allow 'extra' functions to be integrated into the domestic space, such as a bathtub deeper than the ones sold on the market, some of the plumbing and sewage installations, some of the storage of the home, etc., thereby optimizing every cubic meter of the house. Although the toilet-device is described by its basic units

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

95

<figure><img src="image_122.png" /></figure>

of length measurements in meters (m), it is designed to maximize the volumetric conditions of the environment in which it is inscribed (m³). Furthermore, when the floor level of the device was raised, it put one of the original windows of the facade directly in line with the bathroom floor, letting natural light stream through the adjacent area for the toilet fixture (and perhaps bathing the bodies seated on it) and through the regular infinite white and red grid that covered every surface of the object, the floor and the walls of the device in an attempt to undo their physical limits to make the space larger while also making the built-in bathtub. With that same logic of dissolving the limits between the intimate and the more public and shared, as Manrique did, the partition dividing the toilet-object from the living room consists of a movable translucent and transparent sheet of glass to physically and visually relate both areas that lets the actions on both side of the plane be discerned and shared.

The refurbishment 106·Oki of a residential unit in Madrid in the 1980s, the toilet-device was configured as an object enveloping the bodies of its occupants, using the curve as its basic geometry, as in the rest of the project, to build a seat in the shower area. The toilet-object, in this case meant to be enjoyed by only one person, rested on the curve that originated all the middle space of the room in the apartment, with all the other rooms articulated around it. The toilet-device came about as a result of the negotiation between the dimensions of the body it was to house

<figure><img src="image_123.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_125.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_126.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_127.png" /></figure>

and the resulting geometry of the different pieces that fit together to complete the spatial scheme of the dwelling. The toilet-object became a space for introspection, for hiding behind a secret door darker in tone, also covered in a geometric grid meant to blur its true dimensions, making the toilet-object unfold along all its parameters. Strictly controlled lighting was added, designed with the client's own input. It included special light fixtures that could change the chromatic range of the light in the room and thereby transform and configure the domestic setting of the toilet-device at will, much like a stage (in this case, a theater designed for one single spectator/actor). In this case, the visual limits of the object are opaque and not related to the other rooms in the domestic space by the express wishes of the client. In contrast, its physical limits are the result of a negotiation among the various different object-devices that compose the dwelling, ones in which the laws of a circumference chord take on a leading role.

In project 067-Didomestic, the toilet-object is decomposed and some of its elements, such as the bathtub-object or the dressing table-object, are set beside other room arrangements such as the living room or the bedroom. This refurbishment consisting of outfitting a domestic space on two levels (a main floor and its attic space) makes use of the edge of the newly built floor slab to include some toilet-objects, among

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

<figure><img src="image_128.png" /></figure>

other elements, to configure an object equipped in a domestic space similar to that of the gridiron up in the heatvens of a black-box stage, establishing a physical mimesis between the two worlds: the house and the theater. In the design, a toilet-device is placed on the more traditional ground floor, connected to the wet area of the dwelling. In addition, the bottom of a bathtub and a dressing table are set into the thickness of the new floor slab, as well as space to stow away some of the utensils associated with the toilet-object.

These objects were visually and physically connected, without any kind of vertical wall separating them, to other rooms of the house such as a small tea room and the master bedroom, squeezing the boundaries between what could be considered intimate and private and what could be considered more public and social within the domestic space. This is how they tried to equate these technological devices associated with the toilet-object with pieces and objects of furniture, as can be seen in this example of a living space in a residential unit in which the bathtub and the washbasin could be integrated into the living room as two more pieces or objects of furniture (objects on which the body rested), using the same materials for their construction and proposing a cozy, comfortable shared space within the social sphere associated with domestic spaces.
<figure><img src="image_124.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_125.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_126.png" /></figure>

and the resulting geometry of the different pieces that fit together to complete the spatial scheme of the dwelling. The toilet-object became a space for introspection, for hiding behind a secret door darker in tone, also covered in a geometric grid meant to blur its true dimensions, making the toilet-object unfold along all its parameters. Strictly controlled lighting was added, designed with the client's own input. It included special light fixtures that could change the chromatic range of the light in the room and thereby transform and configure the domestic setting of the toilet-device at will, much like a stage (in this case, a theater designed for one single spectator/actor). In this case, the visual limits of the object are opaque and not related to the other rooms in the domestic space by the express wishes of the client. In contrast, its physical limits are the result of a negotiation among the various different object-devices that compose the dwelling, ones in which the laws of a circumference chord take on a leading role.

In project 067-Didomestic, the toilet-object is decomposed and some of its elements, such as the bathtub-object or the dressing table-object, are set beside other room arrangements such as the living room or the bedroom. This refurbishment consisting of outfitting a domestic space on two levels (a main floor and its attic space) makes use of the edge of the newly built floor slab to include some toilet-objects, among

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

<figure><img src="image_127.png" /></figure>

other elements, to configure an object equipped in a domestic space similar to that of the gridiron up in the heatvens of a black-box stage, establishing a physical mimesis between the two worlds: the house and the theater. In the design, a toilet-device is placed on the more traditional ground floor, connected to the wet area of the dwelling. In addition, the bottom of a bathtub and a dressing table are set into the thickness of the new floor slab, as well as space to stow away some of the utensils associated with the toilet-object.

These objects were visually and physically connected, without any kind of vertical wall separating them, to other rooms of the house such as a small tea room and the master bedroom, squeezing the boundaries between what could be considered intimate and private and what could be considered more public and social within the domestic space. This is how they tried to equate these technological devices associated with the toilet-object with pieces and objects of furniture, as can be seen in this example of a living space in a residential unit in which the bathtub and the washbasin could be integrated into the living room as two more pieces or objects of furniture (objects on which the body rested), using the same materials for their construction and proposing a cozy, comfortable shared space within the social sphere associated with domestic spaces.
<figure><img src="image_129.png" /></figure>

In 067-Didomestic, inhabiting these objects belonging to the toilet-device, a meeting could be held, as Manrique stated, since its direct physical connection with other rooms would allow one to take a bath while other people were having tea in the sitting room or bedroom. All compartments and gates built into the floor and ceiling delimited by the thickness of the floor, as well as the bathtub, appeared and disappeared at the user's whim. Secret hatches, delicately padded and lined with the same soft fabric of baroque decorations and brocades as some of the movable walls of the dwelling, complemented the basic configuration of the living space according to the needs of the moment and enabled different domestic combinations to be arranged. These two objects were placed as just another element among the furniture of the house, decentralizing the toilet-object in a single place to disseminate it around all the rooms.

## Toilet as space, room, and place

If we approach the toilet concept and focus our attention on its definition as an inhabited space, room or area, as a space that is already occupied and inhabited by the body, we could include elii's projects that try to stretch that which can be constituted as political matter. Firstly, by making the toilet-room a space that can blur various types of boundaries: between what is considered public and private and intimate, within the configuration of a traditional Western home. (144) In addition, the limit and compartmentalization between the public sphere and the private sphere in a

more urban context, underscoring the interscalar nature of the day-to-day behaviors where all our daily work unfolds (bringing the actions unfolded in domestic spaces to the controversies of a global nature; for example, the choice of the deodorant--and its components-- that you use in your everyday life can have consequences on the habitat of the panda bears in China). Between what is a space for the care of a single individual and the care of many in a collective action shared with others (for example, adopting as possible the dystopia shown by the filmmaker Luis Buñuel in his 1974 film *Le fantôme de la liberté*, in which various actions that unfold around the toilet device were part of the public and social sphere, and therefore shared with others, and the act of eating was part of a more private and individual sphere, more intimate, removed to a space separate from the places for socialization in the home).

Taking into consideration these ways of diluting the limits associated with the toilet-space, we may consider the toilet ultimately as both an urban element and a political element at the same time. With these premises is how the toilet-space was developed in the project 057-Insider (2011), which operated with a strategy similar to Yojigen Poketto's, in which the floor of the toilet-space was raised 60 centimeters with respect to the original floor of the house to rehabilitate to hold a bathtub, the bed, the plumbing and sewer facilities and all bathroom fixtures as a toilet-object. The spaces devoted to body care were gathered together in the middle of the home to configure two interior facades whose composition and material emulated the existing ones in the nearby surroundings of the historical downtown of Zaragoza. The two facades showed and

Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

<footnote n="144">144 For example, including bathroom fixtures as exclusive protagonists of the domestic space as Shigeru Ban did in his wall-less House in Nagano in 1997, where the toilets occupied a common space shared without any physical interior compartmentalization with the rest of the design patterns and rooms in the house. Shigeru Ban, *Wall-less House*, Nagano, Japan (1997).</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_128.png" /></figure>

In 067-Didomestic, inhabiting these objects belonging to the toilet-device, a meeting could be held, as Manrique stated, since its direct physical connection with other rooms would allow one to take a bath while other people were having tea in the sitting room or bedroom. All compartments and gates built into the floor and ceiling delimited by the thickness of the floor, as well as the bathtub, appeared and disappeared at the user's whim. Secret hatches, delicately padded and lined with the same soft fabric of baroque decorations and brocades as some of the movable walls of the dwelling, complemented the basic configuration of the living space according to the needs of the moment and enabled different domestic combinations to be arranged. These two objects were placed as just another element among the furniture of the house, decentralizing the toilet-object in a single place to disseminate it around all the rooms.

## Toilet as space, room, and place

If we approach the toilet concept and focus our attention on its definition as an inhabited space, room or area, as a space that is already occupied and inhabited by the body, we could include elii's projects that try to stretch that which can be constituted as political matter. Firstly, by making the toilet-room a space that can blur various types of boundaries: between what is considered public and private and intimate, within the configuration of a traditional Western home. (144) In addition, the limit and compartmentalization between the public sphere and the private sphere in a

more urban context, underscoring the interscalar nature of the day-to-day behaviors where all our daily work unfolds (bringing the actions unfolded in domestic spaces to the controversies of a global nature; for example, the choice of the deodorant--and its components-- that you use in your everyday life can have consequences on the habitat of the panda bears in China). Between what is a space for the care of a single individual and the care of many in a collective action shared with others (for example, adopting as possible the dystopia shown by the filmmaker Luis Buñuel in his 1974 film *Le fantôme de la liberté*, in which various actions that unfold around the toilet device were part of the public and social sphere, and therefore shared with others, and the act of eating was part of a more private and individual sphere, more intimate, removed to a space separate from the places for socialization in the home).

Taking into consideration these ways of diluting the limits associated with the toilet-space, we may consider the toilet ultimately as both an urban element and a political element at the same time. With these premises is how the toilet-space was developed in the project 057-Insider (2011), which operated with a strategy similar to Yojigen Poketto's, in which the floor of the toilet-space was raised 60 centimeters with respect to the original floor of the house to rehabilitate to hold a bathtub, the bed, the plumbing and sewer facilities and all bathroom fixtures as a toilet-object. The spaces devoted to body care were gathered together in the middle of the home to configure two interior facades whose composition and material emulated the existing ones in the nearby surroundings of the historical downtown of Zaragoza. The two facades showed and

Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

<footnote n="144">144 For example, including bathroom fixtures as exclusive protagonists of the domestic space as Shigeru Ban did in his wall-less House in Nagano in 1997, where the toilets occupied a common space shared without any physical interior compartmentalization with the rest of the design patterns and rooms in the house. Shigeru Ban, *Wall-less House*, Nagano, Japan (1997).</footnote>
shared the actions unfolding in the toilet-room with the living area. The actions of care associated with the toilet-space were socialized, they were included in the area most traditionally considered public in a dwelling: the living room or sitting room, aiming to eliminate the limits set between both spaces. The toilet-space escaped from the individual enclosed space where it was usually placed to form part of the imaginary and possibilities of shared rituals. Several windows fitted with blinds were used to show various uses associated with the toilet-room and transfer them to the main living space of the house, where a chat could be shared between someone who was taking a shower and someone who was cooking or sitting on a sofa (again Manrique and his meeting). The project attempted to blur the boundaries between the intimate and the public, proposing other ways of sharing time and being together (bringing the actions that might occur in this domestic space closer to those that occur, for example, in the Arabic hammam, in the Nordic sauna or in shared Asian baths.

These proposals aimed to show the ability of these devices to unfold spaces and domestic actions as potential places for politics and thus blur the distinction between public and private spaces to make the point that everyday behaviors can be integrated into other scales of action beyond the home. Or, the other way around, to catch a glimpse of "private" activities in larger-scale political projects. In this example, the physical and visual connection of several rooms of different natures is made more evident, allowing their customization over time, revealing or hiding parts of the toilet-room or other uses, at the whim of its occupants.

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

98

<figure><img src="image_130.png" /></figure>

A similar but subtler attempt was also made to blur the boundary between different spheres in the 055·House of Would project. Here, the master toilet-room was visually connected to the master bedroom to bring more natural light into the latter by using the toilet-space as a light well and a translucent polycarbonate and opal white connector between the pieces of wood that make up the bedrooms. This physical connection through a sheet of transparent glass delved again into the idea of trying to blur and play with the limits between what belongs to the sphere of the intimate, such as the toilet-space, and what belongs to the more public sphere, of a more shared nature, such as the bedroom-space. The toilet-room arose from a negotiation between the geometry of the gradient of the plot where the single-family home was located and the dimensions and rules of play of the body and its different positions. The toilet-room was used as a physical connector between the different pieces of laminated wood located at different heights that housed the bedrooms, allowing the construction of a built-in bathtub-shower that acted as a junction piece between the two. The dimensions of the bathtub-shower itself fit the dimensions of the body, of the different positions that it could adopt when used as a shower (alone or in company), bathtub (alone or in company), recliner, footbath, children's bath, etc. as described in the Poliban patent. (145) This toilet-space was designed for the enjoyment and care of the bodies
shared the actions unfolding in the toilet-room with the living area. The actions of care associated with the toilet-space were socialized, they were included in the area most traditionally considered public in a dwelling: the living room or sitting room, aiming to eliminate the limits set between both spaces. The toilet-space escaped from the individual enclosed space where it was usually placed to form part of the imaginary and possibilities of shared rituals. Several windows fitted with blinds were used to show various uses associated with the toilet-room and transfer them to the main living space of the house, where a chat could be shared between someone who was taking a shower and someone who was cooking or sitting on a sofa (again Manrique and his meeting). The project attempted to blur the boundaries between the intimate and the public, proposing other ways of sharing time and being together (bringing the actions that might occur in this domestic space closer to those that occur, for example, in the Arabic hammam, in the Nordic sauna or in shared Asian baths.

These proposals aimed to show the ability of these devices to unfold spaces and domestic actions as potential places for politics and thus blur the distinction between public and private spaces to make the point that everyday behaviors can be integrated into other scales of action beyond the home. Or, the other way around, to catch a glimpse of "private" activities in larger-scale political projects. In this example, the physical and visual connection of several rooms of different natures is made more evident, allowing their customization over time, revealing or hiding parts of the toilet-room or other uses, at the whim of its occupants.

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

98

<figure><img src="image_129.png" /></figure>

A similar but subtler attempt was also made to blur the boundary between different spheres in the 055·House of Would project. Here, the master toilet-room was visually connected to the master bedroom to bring more natural light into the latter by using the toilet-space as a light well and a translucent polycarbonate and opal white connector between the pieces of wood that make up the bedrooms. This physical connection through a sheet of transparent glass delved again into the idea of trying to blur and play with the limits between what belongs to the sphere of the intimate, such as the toilet-space, and what belongs to the more public sphere, of a more shared nature, such as the bedroom-space. The toilet-room arose from a negotiation between the geometry of the gradient of the plot where the single-family home was located and the dimensions and rules of play of the body and its different positions. The toilet-room was used as a physical connector between the different pieces of laminated wood located at different heights that housed the bedrooms, allowing the construction of a built-in bathtub-shower that acted as a junction piece between the two. The dimensions of the bathtub-shower itself fit the dimensions of the body, of the different positions that it could adopt when used as a shower (alone or in company), bathtub (alone or in company), recliner, footbath, children's bath, etc. as described in the Poliban patent. (145) This toilet-space was designed for the enjoyment and care of the bodies
<figure><img src="image_131.png" /></figure>

that would inhabit it. Furthermore, the colors that would make it up
were chosen in close collaboration with the client, with a sea green
tone for the joints of the gresite pieces that reminded the sunsets of
the beaches of the world described by the artist Lydia de Koning in
her work *Venice Beach* (2003).

Toilet as action

One of the examples that takes the toilet concept to the extreme is 069·JF-Kit House, a work that could fall under the classification of toilet as a verb or action: the act or action of washing (in the archaic sense), grooming and sprucing up one's appearance; or the action of using the toilet; of the help given to someone, especially to a child, to make use of it.

What would happen in a dystopian reality if some of the energy demands of the domestic spaces we normally inhabit in Western societies, one of which is the toilet, had to be powered by our bodies, our muscles and our day-to-day physical activities? What actions would we need to unfold in order to be able to flush the toilet or to take a hot bath? (146)

JF-Kit House BR and GZ explored the rhetorical and controversial dimension of architecture. Its objective was not so much to provide a closed solution, but to open a debate in society. It used architecture unfolded as a fictional setting in which the visitor could

wonder and try out other realities, turning the museum into a playground for critique,
into a laboratory. The exhibition space became a space for experimentation.

If sustainability entails a cultural transformation, society as a whole must discuss how
it wants that new culture to be. JF-Kit House participated in this debate by materializing
a future possibility in an architectural prototype so that citizens could experience it,
inhabit it and discuss its viability. It was an architectural political fiction that had to
be debated and evaluated to try out how domestic space and its ritual uses would be
transformed, as well as citizens' bodies in an "off the grid" context on account of the
stance on sustainability.

This work was aimed at joining certain trends in the history of architecture that show
proposals for the house of the future. (147) JF-Kit House BR and GZ sought to take a
different stance, initiating a dialogue rather than closing a conversation. It proposed a
space to inhabit controversy: not a spatial solution as a final state but as a starting point.

Thinking of any scenario that addresses the energy question inevitably entails reinven-
ting a new culture, and at this point, the body is a leading actor in the story. In this 1:1
scale prototype, like the one by Jacobsen and the Smithsons, bodies would become
transformed and modified by the daily physical action that they would have to under-
take when carrying out the most common daily activities in the rooms of the house.

This is how JF-Kit House revealed the body as a critical transit point and a key battlefield in the articulation of sustainable futures. By taking the centrality of the body to the extreme, the house offered an ironic model of citizenship for future sustainable

<footnote n="146">146 The JF-Kit House (ELII, 2012) is an experimental prototype of a residential unit designed for two museum spaces: CIVA (Centre International pour la Ville, l'Architecture et le Paysage) in Brussels (BR) and Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou (GZ). Its name plays on the initials of the actress and political activist Jane Fonda who through her workout videos was able to transform the living rooms of thousands of viewers into gyms to tone their bodies.</footnote>

<footnote n="147">147 The prototype produced by Arne Jacobsen and Flemming Lassen for the competition promoted by the Danish Association of Architects in 1929 (see Félix Solaguren, *Arne Jacobsen: Edificios públicos: Public Buildings* (Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gilí, 2005)), the one developed by the architects Alison and Peter Smithson for the exhibition *Daily Mail Ideal Home* in 1956 called House of the Future (see Sabine von Fischer, "The Sound of the Future," Canadian Centre for Architecture, 2010, www.cca.qc.ca/en/issues/2/what-the-future-looked-like/32734/1956-house-of-the-future), or the proposal by the architect Andreis Legzdins for the Swiss Electronic Fair in 1973 showing a prototype of domestic space for the foreseeable future in 1997 (see Justo García Navarro, *El cuarto de baño en la vivienda urbana: una perspectiva histórica* (Madrid: Fundación Cultural COAM, 1998), 162) are several examples of this narrative. Both prototypes were at a 1:1 scale and attempted to anticipate solutions for the domestic space, including the toilet room and the toilet as an object in itself, offering utopian and normative solutions, putting an end to a possible conversation on the topic at hand, accessed April 10, 2019.</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_130.png" /></figure>

that would inhabit it. Furthermore, the colors that would make it up
were chosen in close collaboration with the client, with a sea green
tone for the joints of the gresite pieces that reminded the sunsets of
the beaches of the world described by the artist Lydia de Koning in
her work *Venice Beach* (2003).

Toilet as action

One of the examples that takes the toilet concept to the extreme is 069·JF-Kit House, a work that could fall under the classification of toilet as a verb or action: the act or action of washing (in the archaic sense), grooming and sprucing up one's appearance; or the action of using the toilet; of the help given to someone, especially to a child, to make use of it.

What would happen in a dystopian reality if some of the energy demands of the domesic spaces we normally inhabit in Western societies, one of which is the toilet, had to be powered by our bodies, our muscles and our day-to-day physical activities? What actions would we need to unfold in order to be able to flush the toilet or to take a hot bath? (146)

JF-Kit House BR and GZ explored the rhetorical and controversial dimension of architec-
ture. Its objective was not so much to provide a closed solution, but to open a debate
in society. It used architecture unfolded as a fictional setting in which the visitor could

wonder and try out other realities, turning the museum into a playground for critique,
into a laboratory. The exhibition space became a space for experimentation.

If sustainability entails a cultural transformation, society as a whole must discuss how
it wants that new culture to be. JF-Kit House participated in this debate by materializing
a future possibility in an architectural prototype so that citizens could experience it,
inhabit it and discuss its viability. It was an architectural political fiction that had to
be debated and evaluated to try out how domestic space and its ritual uses would be
transformed, as well as citizens' bodies in an "off the grid" context on account of the
stance on sustainability.

This work was aimed at joining certain trends in the history of architecture that show
proposals for the house of the future. (147) JF-Kit House BR and GZ sought to take a
different stance, initiating a dialogue rather than closing a conversation. It proposed a
space to inhabit controversy: not a spatial solution as a final state but as a starting point.

Thinking of any scenario that addresses the energy question inevitably entails reinven-
ting a new culture, and at this point, the body is a leading actor in the story. In this 1:1
scale prototype, like the one by Jacobsen and the Smithsons, bodies would become
transformed and modified by the daily physical action that they would have to under-
take when carrying out the most common daily activities in the rooms of the house.

This is how JF-Kit House revealed the body as a critical transit point and a key battlefield in the articulation of sustainable futures. By taking the centrality of the body to the extreme, the house offered an ironic model of citizenship for future sustainable

<footnote n="146">146 The JF-Kit House (ELII, 2012) is an experimental prototype of a residential unit designed for two museum spaces: CIVA (Centre International pour la Ville, l'Architecture et le Paysage) in Brussels (BR) and Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou (GZ). Its name plays on the initials of the actress and political activist Jane Fonda who through her workout videos was able to transform the living rooms of thousands of viewers into gyms to tone their bodies.</footnote>

<footnote n="147">147 The prototype produced by Arne Jacobsen and Flemming Lassen for the competition promoted by the Danish Association of Architects in 1929 (see Félix Solaguren, *Arne Jacobsen: Edificios públicos: Public Buildings* (Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gilí, 2005)), the one developed by the architects Alison and Peter Smithson for the exhibition *Daily Mail Ideal Home* in 1956 called House of the Future (see Sabine von Fischer, "The Sound of the Future," Canadian Centre for Architecture, 2010, www.cca.qc.ca/en/issues/2/what-the-future-looked-like/32734/1956-house-of-the-future), or the proposal by the architect Andreis Legzdins for the Swiss Electronic Fair in 1973 showing a prototype of domestic space for the foreseeable future in 1997 (see Justo García Navarro, *El cuarto de baño en la vivienda urbana: una perspectiva histórica* (Madrid: Fundación Cultural COAM, 1998), 162) are several examples of this narrative. Both prototypes were at a 1:1 scale and attempted to anticipate solutions for the domestic space, including the toilet room and the toilet as an object in itself, offering utopian and normative solutions, putting an end to a possible conversation on the topic at hand, accessed April 10, 2019.</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_132.png" /></figure>

societies: the “Jane Fonda Citizenship Model,” which defined the ideal citizen as an individual who could meet all of his or her household energy needs through his or her own physical exercise. By radicalizing this model, JF-Kit House sought to open a debate on the type of bodies required for political participation and for the proper functioning of economically sustainable systems. Specifically, JF-Kit House asked us: What types of bodies are imagined to fulfill the promises of these sustainable futures? What kind of domestic infrastructure is required to produce these bodies? What are the new rituals, practices and domestic habits that these bodies will have to inscribe and promulgate? And most importantly: which organisms are excluded from participating in these sustainable futures and their pledges?

For example, many bodies would find themselves excluded from these domestic spaces, such as all the bodies belonging to people with different capabilities, or the bodies of the elderly or of babies.

If we take Rem Koolhaas's statement in his text *A Room of One's Own* in which he quotes: "A toilet is the fundamental zone of interaction - on the most intimate level - between humans and architecture" (148) we can affirm that in the toilet of the JF-Kit House, prominence of the body is intensified, taking on a triple role. Firstly, as a place of fundamental interaction with architecture, particularly in that specific domestic space (the body comes into more direct contact with architecture, with no filters). Secondly, recognizing the body as the object of measurement and design (149) for this particular

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<figure><img src="image_133.png" /></figure>

space, given that most of its elements are designed based on ergonomic studies that attempt to accommodate and adapt to the shapes and dimensions of the different bodies they are meant to house. And thirdly, specifically, having the bodies be responsible for generating the energy that make it possible for all the actions to take place there. It is in the example of the JF-kit House that the toilet as an action (to toilet: action of assisting or supervising someone, especially an infant or invalid, in using a toilet) gains relevance in the work of the study. It is the place where the toilet ritual is turned into action through the movement and physical exercises of the bodies that inhabit it (assisting that of others or that of oneself), maximizing its role in the domestic architectural space. Thus, the space of the toilet in this prototype would no longer be just an infrastructure terminal where an intricate network of pipes ends connecting this domestic space with a larger, territorial-scale reality (it links our toilets to the reservoirs that supply our homes with water, and our sewers with the rivers and seas). It would not only be a space that receives the supply of water and energy, but would also become a productive space for a portion of these elements.

The toilet space would not only be a space in which to take a hot water bubble bath but also the energy-producing space to pump that water to the tub and heat it up to the desired temperature. It would be a space in which action is the protagonist even
<figure><img src="image_131.png" /></figure>

societies: the “Jane Fonda Citizenship Model,” which defined the ideal citizen as an individual who could meet all of his or her household energy needs through his or her own physical exercise. By radicalizing this model, JF-Kit House sought to open a debate on the type of bodies required for political participation and for the proper functioning of economically sustainable systems. Specifically, JF-Kit House asked us: What types of bodies are imagined to fulfill the promises of these sustainable futures? What kind of domestic infrastructure is required to produce these bodies? What are the new rituals, practices and domestic habits that these bodies will have to inscribe and promulgate? And most importantly: which organisms are excluded from participating in these sustainable futures and their pledges?

For example, many bodies would find themselves excluded from these domestic spaces, such as all the bodies belonging to people with different capabilities, or the bodies of the elderly or of babies.

If we take Rem Koolhaas's statement in his text *A Room of One's Own* in which he quotes: "A toilet is the fundamental zone of interaction - on the most intimate level - between humans and architecture" (148) we can affirm that in the toilet of the JF-Kit House, prominence of the body is intensified, taking on a triple role. Firstly, as a place of fundamental interaction with architecture, particularly in that specific domestic space (the body comes into more direct contact with architecture, with no filters). Secondly, recognizing the body as the object of measurement and design (149) for this particular

**INTIMACY EXPOSED** Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

100

<figure><img src="image_132.png" /></figure>

space, given that most of its elements are designed based on ergonomic studies that attempt to accommodate and adapt to the shapes and dimensions of the different bodies they are meant to house. And thirdly, specifically, having the bodies be responsible for generating the energy that make it possible for all the actions to take place there. It is in the example of the JF-kit House that the toilet as an action (to toilet: action of assisting or supervising someone, especially an infant or invalid, in using a toilet) gains relevance in the work of the study. It is the place where the toilet ritual is turned into action through the movement and physical exercises of the bodies that inhabit it (assisting that of others or that of oneself), maximizing its role in the domestic architectural space. Thus, the space of the toilet in this prototype would no longer be just an infrastructure terminal where an intricate network of pipes ends connecting this domestic space with a larger, territorial-scale reality (it links our toilets to the reservoirs that supply our homes with water, and our sewers with the rivers and seas). It would not only be a space that receives the supply of water and energy, but would also become a productive space for a portion of these elements.

The toilet space would not only be a space in which to take a hot water bubble bath but also the energy-producing space to pump that water to the tub and heat it up to the desired temperature. It would be a space in which action is the protagonist even
before the main action of bathing is perforated. That ritual, sometimes individual, that
makes up a small daily luxury would be modified and implemented, perhaps giving
way to new social rituals with an audience of more than one body. (150)

Thus, in the Body Recovery 07 space, a series of equivalences were indicated to be able
to enjoy small experiences in the bathroom such as brushing one's teeth or taking a
bath. For the latter, an inhabitant of the prototype would need to pedal for more than
450' (more than 7 hours) to be able to take a restorative bath or perhaps establish a
new tradition in which the bubble bath would always be preceded by a shared spinning
class with three other people (members of the same family or not) thereby shortening
the workout session to slightly over 110 minutes of group exercise. In these cases, the
toilet space would become a collective place, closer to the images shown in Buñuel's
film of which we spoke at the beginning of the article, rather than a place meant for
individuality. (151)

Perhaps in the case of the JF-Kit House, the toilet space became more of a family room of shared actions due to the need to produce more energy or the desire to blur the boundaries between these spaces and the spaces for socializing, bringing the configuration of the prototype toilet closer to that of the shared Far Eastern, Arab or Nordic bathrooms where many of the actions that unfold there are carried out surrounded by other bodies, in public.

The JF-Kit House envisioned a future in which the private and intimate space of the
home would be transformed into a place where it would be possible to engage in more

INTIMACY EXPOSED Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

101

ambitious political projects, such as sustainable societies or low-carbon economies,
through seemingly mundane choices and practices. It did so by showing, for example,
how common household devices, such as "home exercise furniture", could be used
productively to raise awareness of the energy and economic costs involved in everyday
activities and in doing so, inducing other forms of consumption and political behavior.

<footnote n="150">150 The project was accompanied by a dossier, "Domestic Fitness Furniture," which showed some workouts associated with the domestic spaces making up the JF-Kit House and where the equivalences were given between the energy needed, for example, to take a hot bath and the amount of exercise to be done prior to that action by one person, two or four, through spinning sessions. 151 It could come close to the space described in the 1930s announcement of the American bathroom fixture brand Kohler of Kohler that asked: "Is your bathroom a family room?" but in a different sense (the ad advocated the inclusion of extra bathrooms in the homes of American families in order to escape from just such a family space that had to be shared between different members of a family at the beginning of the 20th century in order to enjoy those rooms alone). See See Boom et al., *Elements of Architecture: Toilet*, 1103.</footnote>
before the main action of bathing is perforated. That ritual, sometimes individual, that
makes up a small daily luxury would be modified and implemented, perhaps giving
way to new social rituals with an audience of more than one body. (150)

Thus, in the Body Recovery 07 space, a series of equivalences were indicated to be able
to enjoy small experiences in the bathroom such as brushing one's teeth or taking a
bath. For the latter, an inhabitant of the prototype would need to pedal for more than
450' (more than 7 hours) to be able to take a restorative bath or perhaps establish a
new tradition in which the bubble bath would always be preceded by a shared spinning
class with three other people (members of the same family or not) thereby shortening
the workout session to slightly over 110 minutes of group exercise. In these cases, the
toilet space would become a collective place, closer to the images shown in Buñuel's
film of which we spoke at the beginning of the article, rather than a place meant for
individuality. (151)

Perhaps in the case of the JF-Kit House, the toilet space became more of a family room of shared actions due to the need to produce more energy or the desire to blur the boundaries between these spaces and the spaces for socializing, bringing the configuration of the prototype toilet closer to that of the shared Far Eastern, Arab or Nordic bathrooms where many of the actions that unfold there are carried out surrounded by other bodies, in public.

The JF-Kit House envisioned a future in which the private and intimate space of the
home would be transformed into a place where it would be possible to engage in more

INTIMACY EXPOSED Devices, spaces, actions and places for body care elii's works through Toilets. Eva Gil Lopesino

101

ambitious political projects, such as sustainable societies or low-carbon economies,
through seemingly mundane choices and practices. It did so by showing, for example,
how common household devices, such as “home exercise furniture”, could be used
productively to raise awareness of the energy and economic costs involved in everyday
activities and in doing so, inducing other forms of consumption and political behavior.

<footnote n="150">150 The project was accompanied by a dossier, "Domestic Fitness Furniture," which showed some workouts associated with the domestic spaces making up the JF-Kit House and where the equivalences were given between the energy needed, for example, to take a hot bath and the amount of exercise to be done prior to that action by one person, two or four, through spinning sessions. 151 It could come close to the space described in the 1930s announcement of the American bathroom fixture brand Kohler of Kohler that asked: "Is your bathroom a family room?" but in a different sense (the ad advocated the inclusion of extra bathrooms in the homes of American families in order to escape from just such a family space that had to be shared between different members of a family at the beginning of the 20th century in order to enjoy those rooms alone). See See Boom et al., *Elements of Architecture: Toilet*, 1103.</footnote>
## Into the hole

Roberto Zancan

> “Lean over the bowl and then take a dive.
> All of you are dead. I am alive.”

—Philip K. Dick, *Ubik*, 1969 (152)

This final essay is not intended to be a conclusion to the volume, but rather a sort of examination of the research presented here and their consequences. It is a Verifica Incerta, an “uncertain verification”, like the famous 1964 movie by Italian artists Gianfranco Baruchello and Alberto Griffi, screened for the first time at La Cinémathèque Française in May 1965 and presented by Marcel Duchamp, to whom it was dedicated. (153) A montage of reflections, a fragmented speculation, inspired by all the previous texts, which strives to reflect on these texts and declare what is missing, what has not been possible to include in the limited space and time of this book’s production. Following this spirit, the best way to begin this verification is perhaps to quote a couple of sentences from *Ubik*. (154) In his radical, controversial novel, Philip K. Dick declares that the bowl, the toilet bowl, is the edge of the interface between reality and imagination. Only by putting his head in the urinal (155) can the protagonists of the novel (and us) understand where the truth lies, what is the real world and what is the projection of our brain imagination. With such a clear/dirty statement, Dick graphically explains how, regardless of whether we are alive or dead, believers or non-believers, through the hole that confronts us every day when we open the toilet bowl, we realize that

<footnote n="152">152 Philip K. Dick, *Ubik*, (New York: Doubleday, 1969), 76
153 For the history and the meaning of this liminal film, see Umberto Eco, *Postille al Nome della rosa* (Milano: Bompiani, 1983).
154 Philip K. Dick, *Ubik* (New York: Doubleday, 1969). For the interpretation of this book, see Philip K. Dick's biography by Emmanuel Carrère, *Je suis vivant et vous êtes morts* (Paris: Le Seuil, 1993).
155 In the book, two different graffiti are evoked: one with the toilet and the other with the urinal.</footnote>
## Into the hole

Roberto Zancan

> “Lean over the bowl and then take a dive.
> All of you are dead. I am alive.”

—Philip K. Dick, *Ubik*, 1969 (152)

This final essay is not intended to be a conclusion to the volume, but rather a sort of examination of the research presented here and their consequences. It is a Verifica Incerta, an “uncertain verification”, like the famous 1964 movie by Italian artists Gianfranco Baruchello and Alberto Griffi, screened for the first time at La Cinémathèque Française in May 1965 and presented by Marcel Duchamp, to whom it was dedicated. (153) A montage of reflections, a fragmented speculation, inspired by all the previous texts, which strives to reflect on these texts and declare what is missing, what has not been possible to include in the limited space and time of this book’s production.
Following this spirit, the best way to begin this verification is perhaps to quote a couple of sentences from *Ubik*. (154) In his radical, controversial novel, Philip K. Dick declares that the bowl, the toilet bowl, is the edge of the interface between reality and imagination. Only by putting his head in the urinal (155) can the protagonists of the novel (and us) understand where the truth lies, what is the real world and what is the projection of our brain imagination.
With such a clear/dirty statement, Dick graphically explains how, regardless of whether we are alive or dead, believers or non-believers, through the hole that confronts us every day when we open the toilet bowl, we realize that

<footnote n="152">152 Philip K. Dick, *Ubik*, (New York: Doubleday, 1969), 76
153 For the history and the meaning of this liminal film, see Umberto Eco, *Postille al Nome della rosa* (Milano: Bompiani, 1983).
154 Philip K. Dick, *Ubik* (New York: Doubleday, 1969). For the interpretation of this book, see Philip K. Dick's biography by Emmanuel Carrère, *Je suis vivant et vous êtes morts* (Paris: Le Seuil, 1993).
155 In the book, two different graffiti are evoked: one with the toilet and the other with the urinal.</footnote>
there is a hidden universe outside of us; a universe that makes our daily lives possible and comfortable and at the same time reminds us of the traces of our darkest ancestral anxieties.

This aspect is highlighted in one section of Josiane Imhasly and Beka & Lemoine's exhibition: the projection of the famous *Trainspotting* sequence in which Ewan McGregor—who later became a Jedi thanks to this scene-plunges into the most putrid latrine of Edinburgh. We have an outside and we have an inside, and on the bowl, we expose our (invisible) interior and we look at our (psychological) interior. (156) Following the trail of what our body expels, entering the universe beyond the hole, can mean descending into the things that progress has hidden from us in the sewers of our big cities, in the subterranean Paris of *Le Miserables*, in the parallel Vienna of *The Third Man...* With modernity, what was predicted in the collective latrines of the ancient Romans has become a universal condition, even in space stations. Before inventing the holes scraped in the ground, humans were still animals that defecated or urinated on the ground. Everything was on display. Jerries and chamber pots did not change the condition. But the invention of the U-tube to avoid odors and the connection to the sewer system gave rise to a parallel universe that now stares at us. Aren't snakes and reptiles crawling out of the bowl one of the most distressing suburban nightmares? But since 1917, a bowl (or at least a urinal) has ceased to be a bowl...

156 Jean-Luc Nancy, "On the soul" in *Corpus* (New York: Fordham University Press, 2008). This lecture was given on April 8, 1994, at the Regional School of the Fine Arts in Le Mans, after a colloquium on The Body. The text was previously published in the acts of the colloquium, *The Weight of the Body* (Le Mans: Beaux-Arts, 1995).

Close/Open that door!

"Does architecture interest you? Not at all!"

—Marcel Duchamp, interview by Michel Sanouillet, 1954

As might be expected, several essays in this book discuss *Fountain*. They focus on the attribution of the work of art and its crucial role in making the bathroom an instrument of artistic and social criticism. Nevertheless, there is another Duchamp project involving the bathroom: *Door, 11 rue Larrey*. Its relevance in the context of this volume is crucial. Not only because it is connected to a space dedicated to cleaning and washing the body, but precisely because it is undoubtedly attributable to the French artist. The more historians tend not to attribute the overthrow of the urinoir to Duchamp, the more this door increases in relevance for evaluating the surrealist work on the bathroom. Not only that, *Door, 11 rue Larrey* is in fact an element of a larger architectural project. In other words, it is the only architecture that the French artist designed and was built on the basis of his indications.

In general, analyses of this work have focused on the dialectic between language games and domestic objects. (157) They celebrate and discuss an oxymoron, the irony of the realization of an apparently impossible condition, that of a door both closed and open which, as Duchamp himself says, "caught the French proverb 'A door must be either

157 Bernhard Siegert and John Durham Peters, "Doors: On the Materiality of the Symbolic," *Grey Room* no. 47 (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2012), 6-23.

<figure><img src="image_134.png" /></figure>
there is a hidden universe outside of us; a universe that makes our daily lives possible and comfortable and at the same time reminds us of the traces of our darkest ancestral anxieties.

This aspect is highlighted in one section of Josiane Imhasly and Beka & Lemoine's exhibition: the projection of the famous *Trainspotting* sequence in which Ewan McGregor—who later became a Jedi thanks to this scene-plunges into the most putrid latrine of Edinburgh. We have an outside and we have an inside, and on the bowl, we expose our (invisible) interior and we look at our (psychological) interior. (156) Following the trail of what our body expels, entering the universe beyond the hole, can mean descending into the things that progress has hidden from us in the sewers of our big cities, in the subterranean Paris of *Le Miserables*, in the parallel Vienna of *The Third Man...* With modernity, what was predicted in the collective latrines of the ancient Romans has become a universal condition, even in space stations. Before inventing the holes scraped in the ground, humans were still animals that defecated or urinated on the ground. Everything was on display. Jerries and chamber pots did not change the condition. But the invention of the U-tube to avoid odors and the connection to the sewer system gave rise to a parallel universe that now stares at us. Aren't snakes and reptiles crawling out of the bowl one of the most distressing suburban nightmares? But since 1917, a bowl (or at least a urinal) has ceased to be a bowl...

156 Jean-Luc Nancy, "On the soul" in *Corpus* (New York: Fordham University Press, 2008). This lecture was given on April 8, 1994, at the Regional School of the Fine Arts in Le Mans, after a colloquium on The Body. The text was previously published in the acts of the colloquium, *The Weight of the Body* (Le Mans: Beaux-Arts, 1995).

Close/Open that door!

"Does architecture interest you? Not at all!"

—Marcel Duchamp, interview by Michel Sanouillet, 1954

As might be expected, several essays in this book discuss *Fountain*. They focus on the attribution of the work of art and its crucial role in making the bathroom an instrument of artistic and social criticism. Nevertheless, there is another Duchamp project involving the bathroom: *Door, 11 rue Larrey*. Its relevance in the context of this volume is crucial. Not only because it is connected to a space dedicated to cleaning and washing the body, but precisely because it is undoubtedly attributable to the French artist. The more historians tend not to attribute the overthrow of the urinoir to Duchamp, the more this door increases in relevance for evaluating the surrealist work on the bathroom. Not only that, *Door, 11 rue Larrey* is in fact an element of a larger architectural project. In other words, it is the only architecture that the French artist designed and was built on the basis of his indications.

In general, analyses of this work have focused on the dialectic between language games and domestic objects. (157) They celebrate and discuss an oxymoron, the irony of the realization of an apparently impossible condition, that of a door both closed and open which, as Duchamp himself says, "caught the French proverb 'A door must be either

157 Bernhard Siegert and John Durham Peters, "Doors: On the Materiality of the Symbolic," *Grey Room* no. 47 (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2012), 6-23.

<figure><img src="image_133.png" /></figure>
opened or closed' in fragante delicto for its inexactitude". However, there is perhaps no more functionalist episode in Duchamp's career than this. Although the exact sequence of actions and choices in the renovation of his tiny studio remains unclear in all the reconstructions published to date, the work of art is designed to allow a more reserved use of the bathroom for the artist's young bride in their home/studio.

"Il n'y a pas de solution parce qu'il n'y a pas de probleme" (There is no solution because there is no problem), as Duchamp used to say.

The renovation involved the entire transformation of the small apartment including the creation of a bathroom before the couple became engaged, and then the construction of the door as an act of modification, completion, addition and adaptation. The solution is anything but anarchic or dysfunctional. It is not a "Bachelor Machine". On the contrary, we are looking at a perfectly functional space (the small recess for the bathtub), resolved with a concise and effective proposal, and then adapted to the needs of a "married couple". As the artist himself states explicitly (158), it is the person who visits or listens to the description of this home/studio, substantially devoid of the artist's works, which leads to the interpretation of the renovation as a Dadaist type of intervention.

If the urinoir is an extraction, the door is an insertion. This door was extracted only at the end of its functional life when, in the 1960s, the artist recovered it to raise its profile at international exhibitions. Duchamp transformed an

158 "In Paris I was living in a very tiny apartment. To take full advantage of the meager space, I thought to make use of a single door which would close alternatively on two jamb-linings placed at right angles. I showed it to some friends and commented that the proverb 'A door must be either open or closed' was thus caught in flagrante delicto for its inexactitude. But people have forgotten the practical reason that dictated the necessity of this measure and they only think of it as a Dada provocation." Marcel Duchamp, edited by Serge Stauffer, "Interview mit Michel Sanouillet (1954)," *Marcel Duchamp: Interviews und Statements* (Stuttgart: Hatje Cantz Publishers, 1992), 50.

architectural object into a gallery object, not so different from those that Gordon, the son of his friend Matta, soon produced in New York: a reuse quite similar to the one described in a chapter of this book, Rotor-Decostruction. Although some aspects of the project still remain obscure, the biography of Lydie Sarazin-Levassor is an effective verification of the many surrealist mythologies built up around *Door, 11 rue Larrey*, starting with the first "publication" of the work of art in the magazine *Orbes* in 1933, and then in *Médium* in 1953. (159)

"He had scraped away at the walls to get to the bare plaster and fitted a folding screen made of thin strips of wood by the front door to cut off any undesired visitors from the rest of the room. It was north-facing studio with a typically large window-space. A smaller window gave onto the roof to the south, and Marcel had fitted the bathroom on that side, having had to raise the floor by two or three steps in order to permit the water to drain, as our outlet pipe led straight onto the roof and into the gutter..." (160).

Mis à nu par sa mariée, Duchamp becomes... architect. The lifting of the floor, the drainage into the gutter and the other solutions speak of a non-overturning functionalism, an inventiveness that always opens up new possibilities, pushes for innovation, to obtain more useful and comfortable conditions from the existing technical order. The image of this door as something "always open" expresses better than any other surrealist invention the quality of the bathroom: a space of technological concentration which highlights social codes... to which Duchamp had to adapt

159 In 1933, Jean van Heeckeren and Jacques-Henry Lévesque commented on "La porte de Duchamp" for the first time in the Parisian review *Orbes*. "When you open this door, to go into the bedroom, it closes the entrance to the bathroom, and when you open this door to go into the bathroom, it closes the door to the studio..." "Il faut qu'une porte soit ouverte ou fermée" seems an irreducible truth. Nonetheless Marcel Duchamp has found a way to construct a door that is open and closed at the same time." Jean van Heeckeren and Jacques-Henry Lévesque, "La porte de Duchamp," *Orbes* 2, no. 2 (Paris: Summer 1933): XIV. An extract from the journal *Orbes*, was published in the magazine *Médium: Communication surréaliste, Nouvelle série* no. 1 (Paris: Editions Aroanes, 1953), 11-12, with a new diagram illustrating the door mechanism. In a conversation with Pierre Cabanne, Duchamp reports on the fate of the door. In 1963, Duchamp purchased the door from his landlady for about $20 and shipped it to the United States, where it became part of the Mary Sisler collection. See Pierre Cabanne, *Dialogues with Marcel Duchamp* (London: Thames and Hudson, 1979), 78. Since then the "Porte de Duchamp" has been a work of art. In 1965, it was displayed
opened or closed' in fragante delicto for its inexactitude". However, there is perhaps no more functionalist episode in Duchamp's career than this. Although the exact sequence of actions and choices in the renovation of his tiny studio remains unclear in all the reconstructions published to date, the work of art is designed to allow a more reserved use of the bathroom for the artist's young bride in their home/studio.

"Il n'y a pas de solution parce qu'il n'y a pas de probleme" (There is no solution because there is no problem), as Duchamp used to say.

The renovation involved the entire transformation of the small apartment including the creation of a bathroom before the couple became engaged, and then the construction of the door as an act of modification, completion, addition and adaptation. The solution is anything but anarchic or dysfunctional. It is not a "Bachelor Machine". On the contrary, we are looking at a perfectly functional space (the small recess for the bathtub), resolved with a concise and effective proposal, and then adapted to the needs of a "married couple". As the artist himself states explicitly (158), it is the person who visits or listens to the description of this home/studio, substantially devoid of the artist's works, which leads to the interpretation of the renovation as a Dadaist type of intervention.

If the urinoir is an extraction, the door is an insertion. This door was extracted only at the end of its functional life when, in the 1960s, the artist recovered it to raise its profile at international exhibitions. Duchamp transformed an

158 "In Paris I was living in a very tiny apartment. To take full advantage of the meager space, I thought to make use of a single door which would close alternatively on two jamb-linings placed at right angles. I showed it to some friends and commented that the proverb 'A door must be either open or closed' was thus caught in flagrante delicto for its inexactitude. But people have forgotten the practical reason that dictated the necessity of this measure and they only think of it as a Dada provocation." Marcel Duchamp, edited by Serge Stauffer, "Interview mit Michel Sanouillet (1954)," *Marcel Duchamp: Interviews und Statements* (Stuttgart: Hatje Cantz Publishers, 1992), 50.

architectural object into a gallery object, not so different from those that Gordon, the son of his friend Matta, soon produced in New York: a reuse quite similar to the one described in a chapter of this book, Rotor-Decostruction. Although some aspects of the project still remain obscure, the biography of Lydie Sarazin-Levassor is an effective verification of the many surrealist mythologies built up around *Door, 11 rue Larrey*, starting with the first "publication" of the work of art in the magazine *Orbes* in 1933, and then in *Médium* in 1953. (159)

"He had scraped away at the walls to get to the bare plaster and fitted a folding screen made of thin strips of wood by the front door to cut off any undesired visitors from the rest of the room. It was north-facing studio with a typically large window-space. A smaller window gave onto the roof to the south, and Marcel had fitted the bathroom on that side, having had to raise the floor by two or three steps in order to permit the water to drain, as our outlet pipe led straight onto the roof and into the gutter..." (160).

Mis à nu par sa mariée, Duchamp becomes... architect. The lifting of the floor, the drainage into the gutter and the other solutions speak of a non-overturning functionalism, an inventiveness that always opens up new possibilities, pushes for innovation, to obtain more useful and comfortable conditions from the existing technical order. The image of this door as something "always open" expresses better than any other surrealist invention the quality of the bathroom: a space of technological concentration which highlights social codes... to which Duchamp had to adapt

159 In 1933, Jean van Heeckeren and Jacques-Henry Lévesque commented on "La porte de Duchamp" for the first time in the Parisian review *Orbes*. "When you open this door, to go into the bedroom, it closes the entrance to the bathroom, and when you open this door to go into the bathroom, it closes the door to the studio..." "Il faut qu'une porte soit ouverte ou fermée" seems an irreducible truth. Nonetheless Marcel Duchamp has found a way to construct a door that is open and closed at the same time." Jean van Heeckeren and Jacques-Henry Lévesque, "La porte de Duchamp," *Orbes* 2, no. 2 (Paris: Summer 1933): XIV. An extract from the journal *Orbes*, was published in the magazine *Médium: Communication surréaliste, Nouvelle série* no. 1 (Paris: Editions Aroanes, 1953), 11-12, with a new diagram illustrating the door mechanism. In a conversation with Pierre Cabanne, Duchamp reports on the fate of the door. In 1963, Duchamp purchased the door from his landlady for about $20 and shipped it to the United States, where it became part of the Mary Sisler collection. See Pierre Cabanne, *Dialogues with Marcel Duchamp* (London: Thames and Hudson, 1979), 78. Since then the "Porte de Duchamp" has been a work of art. In 1965, it was displayed
himself, adding a door to allow his young wife's privacy. For these and many other reasons, the bathroom—much
more than any other room in the house—is a space of subversion and progress (in a positive sense, which we wish
to support here) for contemporary design as a solution to human problems.

Toilet: A Love Story

"Until the problem doesn't get personal, no one's willing to fight find a solution."

—Narayan (“Naru”) Sharma, *Toilet: A Love Story*, 2017 (161)

Some of the essays in this book that reflect on *Fountain* have described dialogue and gender conflicts. A re-reading of *Echec matrimoniale* (the original title of Lydie Sarazin-Levassor autobiography) between Marcel Duchamp and Lydie Sarazin-Levassor would be useful to understand this theme better. Therefore, it seems necessary to take up the theme of the bathroom as a place of dialogue/conflict of conjugal coexistence on the horizon of social progress in low and middle-income countries. For this purpose we are helped by a splendid film released just as we were organizing the seminar: *Toilet: Ek Prem Katha* (*Toilet: A Love Story*), a sarcastic Bollywood comedy co-produced, among others, by the protagonist and great Indian movie star, Akshay Kumar. (162)

in New York as part of the exhibition *Not Seen and/or Less Seen of/ by Marcel Duchamp/Rrose Sélavy*, 1904–1964. Under the heading of *Door: 11, rue Larrey*, it was entered as no. 426 in the catalog of Duchamp's works. See Arturo Schwartz, *The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp*, vol. 2 (New York: Delano Greenbridge Editions, 1997), 717. Number 507 in the *Critical Catalogue Raisonné* is a reproduction of a drawing by Duchamp of the door. Schwartz, *The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp*, 778. 160 Lydie Fischer Sarazin-Levassor, *Un échec matrimonial: Le coeur de la mariée mis à nu par son célibataire même*, (Dijon: Les Presses du réel, 2004), 67–68. 161 *Toilet: A Love Story* (original Title: *Toilet: Ek Prem Katha*) is a Indian Hindi-language film of 2017. Directed by Shree Narayan Singh, co-produced by Neeraj Pandey and Akshay Kumar, this comedy-drama stars Bhumi Pednekar and Akshay Kumar.

<figure><img src="image_135.png" /></figure>

The movie is based on real facts and tells the story of Jaya (Bhumi Pednekar), an educated girl who goes to college and marries Keshav Sharma (Akshay Kumar), a man from another village, and moves in with his family, as is customary. The first morning after their marriage, she learns that her husband's family does not have a toilet in the house. The only way she can relieve herself is to join the village women, who get up every day at 4 am to defecate in the fields while it is still dark (for privacy reasons). And then they wait for sunset to use the fields again. She is horrified but the villagers, including her in-laws, firmly believe that having a toilet in the home, where there's a kitchen and a prayer room, is unclean. Keshav makes a couple of temporary adjustments to fix the problem. First, he takes Jaya to a neighbor's house which has a portable toilet for a bedridden elderly woman, and then to a train that has a seven-minute stop at the village railway station, but one day she is locked up in the toilet and the train leaves the station. After arguing with her husband and giving him an ultimatum - no bathroom, no wedding - she decides she has no choice but to leave the man she loves and returns to her parents' house. But Keshav sets out to win her back. And that means changing his mind about the need for sanitation. Not only that, she also plans to change the community's toilet position as well. The plot is quite complex and Keshav's attempts mostly clash with the reluctance of his father to acknowledge the importance of having a toilet in the house. Keshav starts to build a toilet, but the father arranges to demolish it while Keshav is asleep. The man, a very religious and superstitious priest, only realizes the

<footnote n="162">162 Shree Narayan Signh, directors, *Toilet: Ek Prem Katha* (Viacom 18 Motion Pictures et al., 2017)</footnote>
himself, adding a door to allow his young wife's privacy. For these and many other reasons, the bathroom—much
more than any other room in the house—is a space of subversion and progress (in a positive sense, which we wish
to support here) for contemporary design as a solution to human problems.

Toilet: A Love Story

"Until the problem doesn't get personal, no one's willing to fight find a solution."

—Narayan (“Naru”) Sharma, *Toilet: A Love Story*, 2017 (161)

Some of the essays in this book that reflect on *Fountain* have described dialogue and gender conflicts. A re-reading of *Echec matrimoniale* (the original title of Lydie Sarazin-Levassor autobiography) between Marcel Duchamp and Lydie Sarazin-Levassor would be useful to understand this theme better. Therefore, it seems necessary to take up the theme of the bathroom as a place of dialogue/conflict of conjugal coexistence on the horizon of social progress in low and middle-income countries. For this purpose we are helped by a splendid film released just as we were organizing the seminar: *Toilet: Ek Prem Katha* (*Toilet: A Love Story*), a sarcastic Bollywood comedy co-produced, among others, by the protagonist and great Indian movie star, Akshay Kumar. (162)

in New York as part of the exhibition *Not Seen and/or Less Seen of/ by Marcel Duchamp/Rrose Sélavy*, 1904–1964. Under the heading of *Door: 11, rue Larrey*, it was entered as no. 426 in the catalog of Duchamp's works. See Arturo Schwartz, *The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp*, vol. 2 (New York: Delano Greenbridge Editions, 1997), 717. Number 507 in the *Critical Catalogue Raisonné* is a reproduction of a drawing by Duchamp of the door. Schwartz, *The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp*, 778. 160 Lydie Fischer Sarazin-Levassor, *Un échec matrimonial: Le coeur de la mariée mis à nu par son célibataire même*, (Dijon: Les Presses du réel, 2004), 67–68. 161 *Toilet: A Love Story* (original Title: *Toilet: Ek Prem Katha*) is a Indian Hindi-language film of 2017. Directed by Shree Narayan Singh, co-produced by Neeraj Pandey and Akshay Kumar, this comedy-drama stars Bhumi Pednekar and Akshay Kumar.

<figure><img src="image_134.png" /></figure>

The movie is based on real facts and tells the story of Jaya (Bhumi Pednekar), an educated girl who goes to college and marries Keshav Sharma (Akshay Kumar), a man from another village, and moves in with his family, as is customary. The first morning after their marriage, she learns that her husband's family does not have a toilet in the house. The only way she can relieve herself is to join the village women, who get up every day at 4 am to defecate in the fields while it is still dark (for privacy reasons). And then they wait for sunset to use the fields again. She is horrified but the villagers, including her in-laws, firmly believe that having a toilet in the home, where there's a kitchen and a prayer room, is unclean. Keshav makes a couple of temporary adjustments to fix the problem. First, he takes Jaya to a neighbor's house which has a portable toilet for a bedridden elderly woman, and then to a train that has a seven-minute stop at the village railway station, but one day she is locked up in the toilet and the train leaves the station. After arguing with her husband and giving him an ultimatum - no bathroom, no wedding - she decides she has no choice but to leave the man she loves and returns to her parents' house. But Keshav sets out to win her back. And that means changing his mind about the need for sanitation. Not only that, she also plans to change the community's toilet position as well. The plot is quite complex and Keshav's attempts mostly clash with the reluctance of his father to acknowledge the importance of having a toilet in the house. Keshav starts to build a toilet, but the father arranges to demolish it while Keshav is asleep. The man, a very religious and superstitious priest, only realizes the

<footnote n="162">162 Shree Narayan Signh, directors, *Toilet: Ek Prem Katha* (Viacom 18 Motion Pictures et al., 2017)</footnote>
problem one day when his old mother falls on the threshold and injures her hip as she is going out to defecate. She shouts vehemently that she absolutely cannot walk to defecate in the fields and that she must use the bathroom which, in the meantime, Keshav has re-built in the courtyard.

At this point, the interminable delays and complexity of the state bureaucracy replace the father's opposition and the solution seems impossible. Jaya files for divorce at a local court citing the unavailability of a bathroom in her husband's home as the main reason. Although the case receives a lot of media attention and politicians and concerned government departments act to speed up the construction of toilets in Keshav village, nothing changes... until the Chief Minister's officer suspends the right to go to the toilet during working hours for all public employees of the relevant offices until they solve the problem. Then Keshav's brother, Naru, declares the moral of the film: "The file which went nowhere in 12 months, got sanctioned in 12 minutes. That's when these officers learned their lesson... Until the problem gets personal, no-one is willing to fight for a solution." The story thus has a happy ending, Keshav and Jaya return to live together and in the final credits, women and men are seen lining up to use mobile toilets at the edge of the village while the construction of permanent toilets goes ahead.

A week after the film's release, Indian courts granted a divorce to a young woman on the grounds that her husband hadn't installed a toilet in their home, causing her much agony during their two-year marriage. Before the end

credits, the movie mentions that it is based on the story of a woman from Madhya Pradesh who refused to return to her husband's home because he did not have a bathroom. The story shares some similarities with an actual event in which 19-year-old fled her husband's home in 2012 when there was no bathroom. In addition, the director Praveen Vyas sent a legal notice to the producers claiming that the film plagiarized scenes and dialogues from his documentary Manini—financed by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting—based on the same topic. Whatever the case, the truth is that it is the sarcastic comedy tone that makes *Toilet: A love Story* particularly effective and convincing to highlight India's open defecation problem.

Because of poverty and cultural and religious prejudices in rural areas, people still do not have this basic service. There are strong gender impacts related to outdoor defecation. The lack of safe private toilets makes women vulnerable to violence. Women are at risk of sexual harassment and rape as they search for places for defecation in the open where they can be secluded and private, often in the dark. Reports of assault in or near areas where women openly defecate are common. Lack of privacy has a particularly broad effect on their sense of dignity. They face the shame of having to defecate in public so often that they wait until sunset to free themselves, when the risk being attacked after dark is even greater.
problem one day when his old mother falls on the threshold and injures her hip as she is going out to defecate. She shouts vehemently that she absolutely cannot walk to defecate in the fields and that she must use the bathroom which, in the meantime, Keshav has re-built in the courtyard.

At this point, the interminable delays and complexity of the state bureaucracy replace the father's opposition and the solution seems impossible. Jaya files for divorce at a local court citing the unavailability of a bathroom in her husband's home as the main reason. Although the case receives a lot of media attention and politicians and concerned government departments act to speed up the construction of toilets in Keshav village, nothing changes... until the Chief Minister's officer suspends the right to go to the toilet during working hours for all public employees of the relevant offices until they solve the problem. Then Keshav's brother, Naru, declares the moral of the film: "The file which went nowhere in 12 months, got sanctioned in 12 minutes. That's when these officers learned their lesson... Until the problem gets personal, no-one is willing to fight for a solution." The story thus has a happy ending, Keshav and Jaya return to live together and in the final credits, women and men are seen lining up to use mobile toilets at the edge of the village while the construction of permanent toilets goes ahead.

A week after the film's release, Indian courts granted a divorce to a young woman on the grounds that her husband hadn't installed a toilet in their home, causing her much agony during their two-year marriage. Before the end

credits, the movie mentions that it is based on the story of a woman from Madhya Pradesh who refused to return to her husband's home because he did not have a bathroom. The story shares some similarities with an actual event in which 19-year-old fled her husband's home in 2012 when there was no bathroom. In addition, the director Praveen Vyas sent a legal notice to the producers claiming that the film plagiarized scenes and dialogues from his documentary Manini—financed by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting—based on the same topic. Whatever the case, the truth is that it is the sarcastic comedy tone that makes *Toilet: A love Story* particularly effective and convincing to highlight India's open defecation problem.

Because of poverty and cultural and religious prejudices in rural areas, people still do not have this basic service. There are strong gender impacts related to outdoor defecation. The lack of safe private toilets makes women vulnerable to violence. Women are at risk of sexual harassment and rape as they search for places for defecation in the open where they can be secluded and private, often in the dark. Reports of assault in or near areas where women openly defecate are common. Lack of privacy has a particularly broad effect on their sense of dignity. They face the shame of having to defecate in public so often that they wait until sunset to free themselves, when the risk being attacked after dark is even greater.
The film is a comic drama about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), a legislative battle to improve India's sanitation conditions, with a focus on diminishing defecation in the open in broad daylight, particularly in provincial India. Akshay Kumar dug a toilet in Madhya Pradesh to promote the film, and in an interview declared that if open defecation in India stopped, 30% of rapes would not happen because this 30% happens when women go into the field to relive themselves. (163)

Since the inception of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, rural sanitation in India has increased significantly from 39% in October 2014 to over 92% at the end of August 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself called the movie a very good effort to promote the program's message, and even Bill Gates,—whose Foundation shared with his ex-wife is engaged in a sanitary improvement program through toilets—listed the film as one of six good things that happened in 2017. (164)

Despite these tributes, the film has remained virtually unknown in Western countries, but has been a huge success throughout Asia. When it was released in China, it beat competition by the Disney production *Marvel Avengers: Infinity War* and other Hollywood blockbusters. In fact, the self-censorship structure of the Indian movie industry, which avoids gory scenes and topics, makes it particularly effective for programming in poorly democratic Asian and Islamic countries in general, where similar sanitization programs are underway such as the Go Wash program

163 Joginder Tuteja, "Exclusive Akshay Kumar Interview—I Am Doing All I Can to Make Sure That Toilet—Ek Prem Katha Is Seen by One and All," Desimartini, https://www.desimartini.com/news/martini-shots/archive/akshay-kumar-interview-toilet-ek-prem-katha-here-is-what-akshay-wanted-to-name-the-movie-article59388.htm accessed November 17, 2017. 164 Neetu Chandra Sharma, "Gates Foundation award seen as boost to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," *LiveMint*, https://www.livemint.com/news/india/gates-foundation-award-seen-as-boost-to-swachh-bharat-abhiyan-1569432677658.html, accessed September 25, 2019.

in Bangladesh or Fresh Life in Africa. In other words, sometimes it is not necessary to be iconoclastic to achieve extensive success in the field of social promotion and women's emancipation. All you need is to engage directly with the problem-solving process. (165)

Le propre et le sale in details

"I do not like ducts, I do not like pipes. I hate them really thoroughly, but because I hate them so thoroughly, I feel that they have to be given their place. If I just hated them and took no care, I think that they would invade the building and completely destroy it."
—Louis Kahn (166)

As the essays by Eva Gil and Joel Sanders shows, practiced and built architecture can be useful in helping and discussing the social issues related to bathroom and toilets. Over the course of history, architects and artists connected to architecture have not only proposed projects but have often been aware that the evacuation issue could allow them to question their activity and the professional dimension of the discipline.

165 With regard to the difficulty of considering the toilet and its elements as "cultural objects," it is important to mention here the destruction of Branislav Nikolić's sculpture Endless Column, created for the Survive Work exhibition in Čačak, Serbia in December 2019. It was a 5-meter-tall sculpture composed of 11 ceramic toilet bowls in the shape of a pillar that juts into the sky, whose declared references were Brancusi and Duchamp. The intention of the artwork was not provocative. The artist did not want to scandalize with a brutal or ironic intervention. Instead, he wanted to create an object that produced plastic and aesthetic qualities through the reuse of everyday objects trouvé. Nevertheless, it provoked many reactions as soon as it was opened, and one night it was destroyed by unknown agents. The paradox is that the selection of the artist for the realization of this work was made on the basis of the Audience Award of the 27th Nadežda Petrović Memorial, which was approved by 10% of the population, a large number for a small town like Čačak. 166 Louis Kahn, quoted in *World Architecture I*, London, 1964, 35.

<figure><img src="image_136.png" /></figure>
The film is a comic drama about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), a legislative battle to improve India's sanitation conditions, with a focus on diminishing defecation in the open in broad daylight, particularly in provincial India. Akshay Kumar dug a toilet in Madhya Pradesh to promote the film, and in an interview declared that if open defecation in India stopped, 30% of rapes would not happen because this 30% happens when women go into the field to relive themselves. (163)

Since the inception of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, rural sanitation in India has increased significantly from 39% in October 2014 to over 92% at the end of August 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself called the movie a very good effort to promote the program's message, and even Bill Gates,—whose Foundation shared with his ex-wife is engaged in a sanitary improvement program through toilets—listed the film as one of six good things that happened in 2017. (164)

Despite these tributes, the film has remained virtually unknown in Western countries, but has been a huge success throughout Asia. When it was released in China, it beat competition by the Disney production *Marvel Avengers: Infinity War* and other Hollywood blockbusters. In fact, the self-censorship structure of the Indian movie industry, which avoids gory scenes and topics, makes it particularly effective for programming in poorly democratic Asian and Islamic countries in general, where similar sanitization programs are underway such as the Go Wash program

163 Joginder Tuteja, "Exclusive Akshay Kumar Interview—I Am Doing All I Can to Make Sure That Toilet—Ek Prem Katha Is Seen by One and All," Desimartini, https://www.desimartini.com/news/martini-shots/archive/akshay-kumar-interview-toilet-ek-prem-katha-here-is-what-akshay-wanted-to-name-the-movie-article59388.htm accessed November 17, 2017. 164 Neetu Chandra Sharma, "Gates Foundation award seen as boost to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," *LiveMint*, https://www.livemint.com/news/india/gates-foundation-award-seen-as-boost-to-swachh-bharat-abhiyan-1569432677658.html, accessed September 25, 2019.

in Bangladesh or Fresh Life in Africa. In other words, sometimes it is not necessary to be iconoclastic to achieve extensive success in the field of social promotion and women's emancipation. All you need is to engage directly with the problem-solving process. (165)

Le propre et le sale in details

"I do not like ducts, I do not like pipes. I hate them really thoroughly, but because I hate them so thoroughly, I feel that they have to be given their place. If I just hated them and took no care, I think that they would invade the building and completely destroy it."
—Louis Kahn (166)

As the essays by Eva Gil and Joel Sanders shows, practiced and built architecture can be useful in helping and discussing the social issues related to bathroom and toilets. Over the course of history, architects and artists connected to architecture have not only proposed projects but have often been aware that the evacuation issue could allow them to question their activity and the professional dimension of the discipline.

165 With regard to the difficulty of considering the toilet and its elements as "cultural objects," it is important to mention here the destruction of Branislav Nikolić's sculpture Endless Column, created for the Survive Work exhibition in Čačak, Serbia in December 2019. It was a 5-meter-tall sculpture composed of 11 ceramic toilet bowls in the shape of a pillar that juts into the sky, whose declared references were Brancusi and Duchamp. The intention of the artwork was not provocative. The artist did not want to scandalize with a brutal or ironic intervention. Instead, he wanted to create an object that produced plastic and aesthetic qualities through the reuse of everyday objects trouvé. Nevertheless, it provoked many reactions as soon as it was opened, and one night it was destroyed by unknown agents. The paradox is that the selection of the artist for the realization of this work was made on the basis of the Audience Award of the 27th Nadežda Petrović Memorial, which was approved by 10% of the population, a large number for a small town like Čačak. 166 Louis Kahn, quoted in *World Architecture I*, London, 1964, 35.

<figure><img src="image_135.png" /></figure>
In the visual arts, the illustration of the bathroom is larger and more crucial than we think. Two outstanding examples come to mind: Francis Bacon's dazzling *The Black Triptycs* and *The Women's Bath* and *The Men's Bath* woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer. This helps us to realize that the tradition of architectural drawing of baths and toilets is as vast as it is little studied. (167) The first figure that comes to mind is the master of the art of engraving, Giambattista Piranesi, who proved that bathrooms, toilets, sewers and human evacuation could be use to magnify and also to reduce the importance of architecture. Amongst his immense output we can find detailed studies in sections, plans and technical diagrams of the Cloaca Maxima in *Della magnificenza ed architettura de' Romani*, and the frequent repetition of small characters intent on pissing on the ruins of some of the most important monuments of the Eternal City (such as the famous of Veduta della Basilica e di Piazza San Pietro, published in Vedute di Roma).

In this volume there is little space for illustrations and discussions of the technical drawings. Nevertheless, we believe that it is important to briefly mention this universe and how useful the study of its critical contribution could be, with at least two examples of the intriguing images that we found during our background research for this book.

The first one is a plate in a series of drawings held at the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris, showing the interior of a palace in Paris. The interiors depicted in the drawings are part of a project for Hôtel de Montholon (the building is at 23, Boulevard Poissonnière, previously Boulevard Montmartre), a commission given to François Soufflot le

167 The purpose of this book is not to make the iconography of the bathroom and toilet theme in art, but it nevertheless seems appropriate to point out that this theme inevitably involves interior design. One of countless examples illustrates this aspect: the emblematic (self) portrait of Lee Miller in the bathtub at Adolf Hitler's apartment in Munich. Numerous essays have been written about this image, but no one seems to have noticed that the bathroom designed by Gerdy Troost is aligned on Prinzregentenstrasse, a few steps away from the Hofatelier Elvira, the famous photography studio design by August Endell, the first husband of Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, "the Dadaist Baroness" who probably invented *Fountain*. Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven and Lee Miller never met, but they certainly would have had a lot to tell each other about the subversion of gender roles in the 20th century, in the realm of... the toilet.

<figure><img src="image_137.png" /></figure>

Romain (nephew of the builder of the Pantheon) and executed by Jean Jacques Lequeu for wealthy magistrate and later president of the Parlement of Normandy, Nicolas de Montholon. The ineffable Lequeu used pen and wash to draw a colorful Plan des lieux à soupape (the name used for the toilet at the time in France, deriving from the valve that activated the drain mechanism). The plate features two plans and two cross-sections of the toilet, numerous details of the taps and a series of texts describing how the different elements work. In the horizontal and vertical "sections of the interior of the seat", ink and wash are used for a detailed description of the feces and swirls of water as the matter is impelled towards the pipe and the bottom plane is cleaned. This is probably the most detailed and "artistic" illustration of a toilet that exists, or at least that has remained. If Le Corbusier had known about these drawings, he probably would not have complained about the luck of Ledoux in not having to cope with piping, and presumably not even Kahn would have come to dislike so intensely the pipes that inspired him for the Richards Memorial Laboratories. (168)

Looking at more recent times, we would like to mention a series of figures produced by Bethold Lubetkin and Tec-
ton Group for the Highpoint One in London, one of the first iconic modernist building in England. These drawings
were probably by Gordon Cullen, who at the time was working in Lubetkin's office. One of figures is dedicated to
the bathroom and explains that, "most of the fittings were specially made for the job, not for snobbish reasons but

168 Reyner Banham, *The Architecture of the Well-Tempered Environment* (London: The Architectural Press, 1969), 249.