A recent article in Chicago’s free daily newspaper, the Redeye, caught my eye this morning. The article is about how the restrooms at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel are being nominated for the America’s Best Restroom award by Cintas, the organization that gave last year’s (2011) award to the Field Museum. This reminded me how restroom culture is treated here in the United States. Far from the techie pop-culture way restrooms are treated abroad, as seen in Japan, here restrooms are treated for the most part with mild disdain. The New York Times recently published an article that encapsulates most people’s feelings about public restrooms: gross.
Of course, all this changes when people start thinking about truly remarkable restrooms. And businesses are listening. There’s even a YouTube video about awesome restrooms in Chicago, where it seems some bars are using restroom design to lure in customers, and keep them coming back. It makes sense. Places with good restrooms, especially businesses like restaurants and bars, get known for how comfortable it is to go to the bathroom there. This means you’ll be more likely to linger at their establishment instead of pressing on when nature calls.
On a recent visit to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in California, my girlfriend and I experienced first-hand the difference well-designed restrooms make. After one night of rather pricey camping, our visits to the clean and well-lit restrooms and showers there made us decide to spend another night camping instead of moving on to another park. While these restroom examples all stem from pay-to-play environments and not true public restrooms, it is good to note what others are doing right, and how we can improve public restroom access for all.
Of course, all this changes when people start thinking about truly remarkable restrooms. And businesses are listening. There’s even a YouTube video about awesome restrooms in Chicago, where it seems some bars are using restroom design to lure in customers, and keep them coming back. It makes sense. Places with good restrooms, especially businesses like restaurants and bars, get known for how comfortable it is to go to the bathroom there. This means you’ll be more likely to linger at their establishment instead of pressing on when nature calls.
On a recent visit to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in California, my girlfriend and I experienced first-hand the difference well-designed restrooms make. After one night of rather pricey camping, our visits to the clean and well-lit restrooms and showers there made us decide to spend another night camping instead of moving on to another park. While these restroom examples all stem from pay-to-play environments and not true public restrooms, it is good to note what others are doing right, and how we can improve public restroom access for all.
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