Reverie 山城 · 微澗
a ethereal moment of retreat with the flow
Public Toilet Concept Design Competition
Public toilet embodies both intimacy and a civic nature within its role. In addition to providing the city with a hygienic sanitary space for the public to get their relief conveniently, the design aim to elevate the civic presence of public toilet within the city while creating a spontaneous atmosphere and an ethereal personal moment of retreat.
Our proposal put forward a multi-layered system to capture the abundance of natural light, air and our cityscape to serve the functional facilities, street pockets and a pleasant shelter. A space where people could be submerged in their own temporal moments, no matter is a grandpa getting his hands washed, a mother changing the diaper for her baby or a business man getting a relief amid his hectic day. We hope to introduce a new way of perceiving the public toilet as an integrated social architecture to embrace the movements of our city and conjuring a refreshing impression to the often-considered mundane space.
The Pavilion and an airy environment
An open and perforated piece of pavilion floats among us, it is an adaptable and progressively growing structure that multiplies and unites spaces, accommodate different provisions to the spaces below. Sunlight at different times of the day permeated through the roof structure and interventions. It shall become a causal node of the city, and be able to exist in various contexts in Hong Kong. A civic building serve not solely the functional purpose, the existence provides opportunities for multifaceted social activities , and one of such to be pockets allowing resting, lingering or simply a shelter from rain.
The Basic
We approached the design with a holistic and bottom-up strategy, treating the smallest element - the toilet cubicles - with equal importance to the rest of the building and have no untreated corners. A unique moment during the ‘business’ is celebrated with sensuous views to the natural landscape through the blurry polycarbonate, and one will feel the movement of wind and shades during the most inconspicuous act. The modules are also designed to minimize junctions and material joints for better maintenance.
The modular cubicles are prefabricated in two portions- with lower part as precast concrete with color variations by pigments, and upper part as lightweight polycarbonate illuminated by the embedded light strip, with sensor to increase the lighting when it’s in use, giving a dynamic appearance from the exterior. With Modular-Integrated-Construction in consideration, the modules could be configured to multiply and adapt to different site arrangements organically with the use of various connection modules. They are carefully designed and positioned strategically to create a flowy environment for smooth physical circulation and cross ventilations.
Roof system
A mutli-layer roof composed by a number of functional and sustainable fittings is proposed, including solar harvesting system, strategic openings to facilitate cross ventilation, mechanical ventilation, weather-proof shelter and greenery. The grid roof system and the vertical support are to be fabricated off-site and assembled on-site, with in-situ on-grade slab or raft footing subject to each site’s geotechnical conditions. The specially designed grid system fabricated by brushed-finished steel allowed easy application of various roofings, interventions and mechanical systems even during operation. The same structure could be adapted to different functional layout of the spaces below.
Facilities
The basin module consists of all basic elements: water and soap dispenser, paper dispenser, dryer, mirror and trash bin. The fluorocarbon coated aluminium construction of the module is corrosion resistant and can be installed in both interior and exterior environment. Baby-care table is designed as designated space with curved treatment to enhance safety level; the resulted environment and atmosphere shall revamp the image of our public toilet as considerate, modern and user-friendly.
Attendant working environment
The attendant room and service facilities are specially designed to promote healthy and pleasant work environment to the staff of the toilets. Lockers are equipped in the attendant room with seating. Part of the seat is right outside the attendant room for easy management. A special module of slop sink is created with the integration of racks and hooks for cleaning tools to promote tidiness in every corners of the public toilet.
競賽提案要求為一個服務建築，為城市提供衛生的衛生設施以方便公眾使用。我們試圖評估公民建築的概念，並重新審視現有的公共洗手間設施，以尋找城市需求的靈感。
提案建議著一個綜合了大自然觀景的多層系統，使公用廣場、涼亭及功能性設施同時發生，使人們能夠隨意簡單的使用。 在這裡，老爺爺可以進出使用洗手間、母親為剛出生的嬰兒更換尿布、或讓忙碌的商人能夠坐下看看天空的地方。這是一種融合了社會結構的建築，帶給我們香港公共服務建築令人耳目一新的印象。
涼亭式的通透環境
提案建築是一個貫穿城巿及浮游在街道中的個體，是一幢微妙公共體系，為公眾提供了繁忙中的一個停靠點。充滿反射影像和植物景觀的高度靈活建築將成為城市的共構點，並能夠在各種香港環境中建設。
而公民建築不僅用於唯一的功能目的，其存在還為多功能服務提供了機會，其中之一就是可以用來休息，纏綿或只是避雨的小廣場。
基礎模組設計
我們採用自下而上的策略來進行設計，將最微小的元素: 廁所隔間以同等的重要與建築物的其餘部分去並同處理。在去洗手間時的這個獨特片刻，我們通過模糊的聚碳酸酯片使自然景觀得以進入使用者的感官，令在最不起眼的小事中，我們仍能感受到風雨的境像。這些模組的設計還能減少結點和內角，使長遠的維護及清潔更簡單容易。
模組的隔間以上下兩部分進行預製: 下部為加入了色粉的預製混凝土，並在不同的社區環境下體現出不同質感色調; 而上部為輕質聚碳酸酯，加上嵌入LED照明燈槽及傳感器，令模組在被使用時可增加照明亮度，帶出動感及不停變化的外觀。
屋頂系統
提案提出了一個由多功能性和可持續性配件組成的多層屋頂，包括太陽能收集系統、有利於交叉通風的策略性開孔、機械通風配件、透光防風雨棚和屋頂緑化。屋頂網格系統和垂直支撐件將進行預製並在現場組裝，並根據每個現場的岩土條件在現場進行相應地基。
由拉絲鋼製成的經過特殊設計的網格系統允許直接將結構系統用作飾面，甚至在建築使用況下也能易於安裝、維修各種設備和系統。
設備
提案中的設施是模組化的，並經過精心設計和策略性定位，創作出易於使用及人性化的環境。
面盆模組包含所有基本元素：鏡子、水龍頭和肥皂泡沫器、紙巾分配器、乾手機和垃圾桶。模組以鋁結構並經氟碳塗層處理，能夠被安裝在室內外環境中。嬰兒護理台將為一個特定空間，並經過圓角處理，提高安全性。整體的環境和氣氛將重新塑造我們對公廁的形象，以達到體貼、現代化和人性化的目的。
清潔工的工作環境
我們特地設計了清潔工值班室和其服務設施，旨在為他們營造健康宜人的工作環境。休息室的儲物櫃配有座椅、掛勾、水機等，而座位的其中一部分亦正位於入口處，便於管理整個建築環境。
Program:
Public Toilet
Status:
Conceptual Design
Year:
2020
Design Team:
Kenneth Wong/ Wong Lap Ming/ Wendy Hiu
