artstall TORONTO Submission 80988 executive summary ArtStall Toronto is a unique creative place-making project that provides durable, accessible standardized public toilets that are also aesthetically pleasing, decorated in collaboration with local artists to enhance the character of Toronto’s streets, while addressing perceived problems with both public art and public toilets.
On a recent CBC broadcast, a pundit argued that Toronto needs a “Percent for Public Toilets” program 10% Admin more than one collecting a “Percent for Public 80% Art.” He complained that the city is awash with sculpture and suggested that Toronto should instead Capital spend developer’s contributions for streetscape 10% improvements on tackling the city’s glaring lack of Maintenance public toilets. But why can’t we combine the two? Toronto’s Percent for Public Art policy encourages both stand-alone artistic works and the artistic treatment of functional civic infrastructure.
Percent for Public ART program
10% Admin
65% Maintenance Enter ArtStall Toronto. This program would use 25% ENDowment percent for public art funds to address Toronto’s Capital ongoing lack of public washroom facilities, improving Subway access to the city for residents and tourists. By Streetcar Route applying locally-designed artistic skins to the exteriors of the “Portland Loo” – a recently developed Intersection Pedestrian Volume (Persons) public toilet winning praise for its indestructibility, 7862-10000 ease of maintenance and low cost – Toronto can take 10000-15000 a step toward creating more inclusive, beautiful and dignified streets. 15000-20000 PERCENT FOR 20000-24677 Both public art and public toilets can be controversial. However, merging the two might actually help to ARTSTALL address concerns with both. Innovative artwork will elevate the public toilet, de-stigmatizing it and turning it from unwanted and neglected facilities into dignified pieces of civic infrastructure worthy of artistic embellishment. Applying artistic creativity to a functional and even iconic public toilet could help to confront utilitarian critiques of art in the city. Submission 80988 Ultimately, City policy argues that public art fosters our sense of place and belonging. ArtStall Toronto could achieve this both by prominently showcasing local art and giving people reliable access to the washrooms they need to comfortably make use of the city’s streets. Despite trends toward increased use of downtown public space and Toronto’s growing position as a tourist destination, public toilets remain an awkward unmet need in the city. Astral Media constructed two automatic pay toilets on the waterfront before funding earmarked for twenty washrooms throughout the city was re-directed to Toronto’s ailing bike share program in 2013. Since then little progress has been made in providing public toilets outside of parks and civic centres, accessible at all hours of the day. Subway ADministration: $15,000 Streetcar Route Public toilets can play a key role in how and if families with small children, older people and people Intersection Pedestrian Volume (Persons) disabilities and medical conditions get out and about 7862-10000 in the city. As recent research by the University of Toronto’s Cities Centre suggests, because public 10000-15000 Maintenance Endowment: toilets are often negatively perceived, they can 15000-20000 $371,000-465,000 be politically difficult to build or maintain. More 20000-24677 public conversations and advocacy are needed. In this spirit, our eye-catching, artist-enhanced public toilets could make this issue more visible in Toronto, doing what good art does best: challenging conventional notions of how we organize and build our community, sparking questions of whether there Capital: $90,000 -$110,000 isn’t a better, more humane way of building our city.
Submission 80988 word count: 1918
submission: 80988
3 Criticized as sources of blight, vandalism, and socially unacceptable activities, Toronto’s last few public toilets closed in the late 1980s. Since then, Toronto has made several attempts to remedy the situation. In 2007, the city signed a contract with Astral Media that would have provided the City with 20 automated public toilets over 20 years. This contract, however, ended abruptly in 2013. Following the installation of two toilets (one in Queens Quay and one in the Beaches), the project funds were transferred to save the Bixi bikeshare program (Dale, 2013). In an attempt to guarantee the right of access to washroom facilities, Toronto City Council amended IMAGE PROBLEMS: the Property Standard By-law (Municipal Code Chapter 629) to require that washroom facilities be provided to the public in retail establishments (City of Toronto, 2009) (The Health Protection and Promotion COMMON CRITICISMS OF PUBLIC ART: Act already ensures washroom facility standards for food establishments). • COSTLY
While these are all steps in the right direction, the • USELESS METAL CONTORTIONS problem remains: outside of parks and civic centres, • LOW PRIORITY WHEN MORE ESSENTIAL there are no free, 24h, accessible, safe, legal, nor convenient washroom facilities currently within the AMENITIES GO UNFUNDED City of Toronto. A report released by the University of • PRODUCED BY DISTANT ARTISTS WITH Toronto City Centre suggests that Toronto is lagging behind other major global cities for providing public LITTLE CLEAR RELATION TO PLACE toilets (Solomon, 2013).
Often taken for granted, toilets are a basic human need. For many, their absence is a primary obstacle to enjoying and feeling comfortable in Toronto’s built COMMON CRITICISMS OF PUBLIC TOILETS: environment. For the elderly, families with young children, pregnant women, homeless populations, and those with medical conditions and accessibility • OFTEN VANDALIZED issues, the right to access washroom facilities is • SITES OF DRUG USE, SEX, AND OTHER particularly pressing as many are left waiting in line at the local Tim Hortons. ILLICIT ACTIVITY • CLEANLINESS PROBLEMS AND Unlike public toilets, public art has received considerable attention and investment. Often PERCEIVED ICKINESS caricatured as contorted metal adornments to new • BRING DOWN PROPERTY VALUES DUE condos and criticized for being produced by artists in distant locales, the installation of public art in TO POOR PERCEPTION Toronto is a contentious process, especially when such essentials as public washrooms go unfunded.
4the issue LOCAL EQUITY & ECONOMY ACCESS • Public washrooms are an economic • Toilets are a basic human need asset, allowing people of all ages and ability to spend more time in the city. • Lack of toilet access a major barrier to enjoyment of city for the elderly, • Public toilets relieve strain on private people with medical conditions, pregnant businesses and public facilities such as women, parents with children, homeless libraries. people.
• Private facilities often not an alternative for homeless, parents with strollers, people with disabilities. TOURIST • For aging population, people with physical and mental health challenges, ECONOMY reliable public toilet access can make • ArtStalls would support tourist difference between going out and economy growth, making the city more confinement at home. user-friendly and accessible.
• Lack of restroom facilities impacts reputation as a tourist destination. TRANSIT
• Tripadvisor pleas for tips on where RIDERSHIP to pee and websites such as “Airpnp” • UK research shows that public toilets show public restroom availability is a are a missing link in increasing transit widespread tourist concern. ridership (Bichard, Hanson & Greed, 2013). • ArtStalls will function as local tourist icons like New Zealand’s Hundertwasser • Lack of public toilets constrains how Toilets. long people can be away from home and what mode they use to move around
• Accessible public toilets are CULTURAL needed near major transit routes and ECONOMY interchanges.
• ArtStalls will provide local artists with project income and exposure. CLEAN & BEAUTIFUL
• Artwork linked to neighbourhood STREETS character and place-making can enhance neighbourhood identity. • Public urination and defecation are public health risks and add to municipal • Public toilets are often stigmatized cleanup service costs. and politically difficult to build. By using art to normalize public toilet use, Toronto • In this 24-hour city, ArtStalls could will showcase our municipal creativity. reduce late-night public urination and preserve the urban environment for all.
what’s at stake?5 you know how that shit go.
ArtStall Toronto boldly challenges the assumption that public art is useless. Drawing on Percent for Public Art contributions (secured during the City’s redevelopment through Section 37 contributions, minor variances and plans of subdivision or severance), ArtStalls will add character and identity to Toronto’s streets while simultaneously providing essential public toilet infrastructure.
ArtStall Toronto will commission local artists to decorate the exteriors of a series of “Portland Loos”— a proven accessible, compact, durable and low-cost public toilet developed after extensive research by the City of Portland— with unique designs reinforcing the character of the bustling streets and transit interchanges where public washrooms are needed the most.
These highly visible and playful facilities will facilitate the enjoyment of public space, delighting—and relieving— residents and visitors alike. The use of public art will reduce the stigma associated with public toilets and boost residents’ and visitors’ perceptions of our city’s public facilities. the solution:
6 artstall precedents
Worldwide, there are numerous examples of artists and designers using toilets to create inviting, unusual places. The Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa, New Zealand, designed by celebrated Austrian artist Friedrich Hundertwasser, are imaginative ceramic structures with glass-bottle windows and quirky tufts of grass growing on the roof. Starchitect Rem Koolhaas has not been above the lowly water closet, designing facilities in Groningen, Netherlands that bring both human dignity and aesthetic interest to the street. Outside London’s Tate Britain gallery, artist Monica Bonvicini has installed a toilet made of one way glass (users can see the world outside, but no one can see in), turning a washroom into a piece of interactive art that challenges users’ deeply ingrained notions of privacy and embarrassment.
SUPER AND POPULAR Public Pissoire, Kreuzberg, Berlin Don't Miss a Sec (2004), Tate Toilet, Groningen, Netherlands Modern, London,UK by Monica by Rem Koolhaas Bonvicini
Pissoire, Kreuzberg, Berlin The Hundertwasser Toilets, Kumutoto Toilets, Wellington, Kawakawa, NZ. by Friederich NZ by NZIA 7 Hundertwasser exterior hand- wash fixture
hand- wash drain
10. 7 ft.
6 ft.
8 the“Portland solar panels skylight Loo” design Artist-designed skins will be applied to this innovative public toilet design.
Low-cost angled slats $90-110,000 per unit (depending on features). Easy-to-clean design contributes to low annual maintenance cost of roughly $16,000 per unit. City service personnel, who maintain the existing paintable/ Automatic Pay Toilets, will service the unit— with additional maintenance costs being provided for tileable steel by the maintenance endowment. panels Space-Efficient
Fits in a single parking spot— key in Toronto where locating public toilets on narrow, busy logo right-of-ways has been identified as a major challenge to their provision in the city’s densest neighbourhoods.
gender-neutral, Durable accessible design Heavy stainless steel walls, doors and ventilation grills designed to prevent vandalism and misuse. accommodates Designed for all season operations and used from stroller, wheelchair, or California and Alaska. bike Minimizes Risk Unit designed with Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: Louvers at the bottom of the toilet allow for community surveillance while maintaining the visual privacy of the user.
Relative openness and location in high-traffic fits in typical areas enables users to call for help if needed, and parking spot deters illegal activitities.
9 Bloor
Bathurst Spadina University Church
College
Dundas
Queen
King
Six initial Artstalls should be located in highly visible areas of Toronto with high pedestrian volumes, making them easy to find and safe to use. Because of the role Subway public toilets can play in facilitating transit Streetcar Route ridership, they should be situated near key Intersection Pedestrian olume (Persons) public transportation routes. 2 0000 0000 000 000 20000 1020000 24 Source: City of Toronto Open Data This scheme reimagines the typical public art financing system. Currently, the city 10% ADMIN 10% recommends that 80% of public art contributions 80% CAPITAL MAINTENANCE go to art costs, while 10% each goes to administration and maintenance endowments. Here, cleanliness is key, so a larger proportion of funds will need to go toward the maintenance endowment for a public toilet.
Together, the initial capital expenditure; the cost of installation and administration; and the establishment of a cleaning and maintenance endowment will be between $370 000 and PERCENT FOR $460 000 (see Appendix for estimates). In this PUBLIC ART PROGRAM scheme, 65% of funding would go toward the maintenance endowment, 25% to capital costs (inclusive of toilet unit and artwork), and 10% to administration and installation.
Like the current Percent for Public Art Program 10% funding scheme, prices will vary based on ADMIN developments and proposed artwork. Should the City choose to draw upon alternative 65% maintenance funds, the maintenance MAINTENANCE endowment would amount to much less of the 25% ENDOWMENT total project cost. CAPITAL
All in all, costs need not exceed the currently recommended 1% of a development’s gross construction cost for public art. In large-scale developments, public art contributions have often ranged from $500,000 to one million PERCENT FOR dollars. Investment in ArtStall Toronto would ARTSTALL bring invaluable returns in terms of comfortable access to the city for all residents and visitors while beautifying Toronto’s streetscapes.
EVALUATION ADMINISTRATION: $15,000 Audits should be conducted to determine the functioning of the toilets such as cleanliness and people counts to account for use. If these audits find that a toilet is unsustainable, a public consultation should be required to determine whether the community wishes it to close. Public MAINTENANCE ENDOWMENT: toilets are community assets; accordingly, the $371,000-465,000 community must decide whether the toilet is to Subway close. Streetcar Route
Intersection Pedestrian olume (Persons) 2 0000 0000 000 CAPITAL: $90,000 -$110,000 000 20000 20000 24 implementation11 bibliography
Bateman, C. (2014, July 9). What happened to all the public washrooms in Toronto? Spacing. Retrieved from http://spacing.ca/toronto/2014/07/09/happened-public-washrooms-toronto/
Bichard, J.-A., Hanson, J., & Greed, C. (2013). Access to the built environment/barriers, chains and missing links. University College London, London, England.
CBC News. (2012, November 6). Victoria loo voted best in Canada. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/ canada/british-columbia/victoria-loo-voted-best-in-canada-1.1268246
City of Portland. (2015). The Portland Loo. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/?c=59293
City of Toronto. (2015). Park bylaws. Retrieved from http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnex- toid=f57d9fba60ca7410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=5c98dada600f0410VgnVCM10000071d- 60f89RCRD
City of Toronto. (2013). Signalized intersection traffic and pedestrian volume. Open Data. Retrieved from http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=417aed3c99cc7310VgnVCM1000003dd60f89RCRD
City of Toronto. (2010). Percent for Public Art Program Guidelines. Retrieved from https://www1.toronto.ca/city_of_toronto/city_planning/urban_design/files/pdf/publicart_udg_aug2010.pdf
City of Toronto. (2009). Staff Report: Amendments to Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 629, Property Stan- dards-Washrooms within Mercantile Occupancies. Retrieved from http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2009/ls/bgrd/backgroundfile-20762.pdf
Citylab. Why Portland’s public toilets succeeded where others failed. http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/01/ why-portlands-public-toilets-succeeded-where-others-failed/1020/
Dale, D. (2013, July 2). “Bixi: Trading $450,000 toilets for bikes? Toronto discusses unique plan to save bike share company.”,The Toronto Star. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/07/02/bixi_ trading_450000_toilets_for_bikes_toronto_discusses_unique_plan_to_save_bike_share_company.html
MacDonald, G. (2013). Toilet trouble: City lacks public washroom policy. Novae Res Urbis, Toronto Edition 17 (25) pp.1,3.
Portland Loo/Madden Fabrications. (2015). The Portland Loo. http://theloo.biz/ Solomon, R.C. (2013). A comparative policy analysis of public toilet provision in North American cities: Rec- ommendations for the creation of a public toilet strategy in Toronto. Cities Centre, University of Toronto. Retrieved from http://www.citiescentre.utoronto.ca/
Washington, K.M. (2014). Go before you go: How public toilets impact public transit usage. PSU McNair Schol- ars Online Journal 8(1). Retrieved from pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/mcnair/vol8/iss1/5/
12 photo credits
Art Stalls:
Original photo of Portland Loo by Kevin Christopher Burke via flickr, Creative Commons (CC)
Graffiti by KWEST, photograph by Tiws via flickr, CC
Painted ArtStall adaptation of Singender Dampfer in Ultramarin III by Friedrich Hundertwasser, 1959
John Tory photograph by Alex Guibord via flickr, CC, collage by the authors.
Railroad photograph by the authors.
Dragon street art photograph by mpok69 via Deviantart, CC
Raccoon street art photograph by wiredforlego via flickr, CC
Owl design is an imagined collaboration between artstall and Drake’s OVO brand, meant to illustrate our intent to collaborate with Toronto artists of both local and international stature. We do not claim any ownership of the image used.
Precedents:
SUPER AND POPULAR Public Toilet, Groningen, Netherlands by Rem Koolhaas via wikimedia commons, CC Pissoire, Kreuzberg, Berlin photograph by authors.
Don’t Miss a Sec (2004), Tate Modern, London,UK by Monica Bonvicini photography by via www.hexjam.com.
Pissoire, Kreuzberg, Berlin photograph by authors.
The Hundertwasser Toilets, Kawakawa, NZ. by Frederick Hundertwasser photograph by Danny Birchall via flickr, CC
Kumutoto Toilets, Wellington, NZ by NZIA photograph by russellstreet via flickr, CC
13 appendix
ARTSTALL COST ESTIMATES Notes(Per unit) Low High Toilet purchase 90000 110000 Depends on features Depends on design Artist pay complexity and public art 1000 5000 contributions Tota Capital 91000 115000
Administration/Inst allation 40000 50000
Annual Maintenance cost 12000 15000 Maintenance endowment fund Assuming 5% return on required 240000 300000 investment
Total Cost per unit 371000 465000 % maintenance endowment 65 65 % capital 25 25 % admin/installation 10 10
Estimated cost for 6 Pilot toilets 2226000 2790000
14 artstall TORONTO
16 Submission 80988