Throughout history, the issue of privacy has been a critical influence towards the designs of public bathrooms. While the earliest global history of bathrooms has shown that the process of urination and defecation were not a matter of privacy, the present world shows otherwise. During my first research, bathroom privacy is covered as a part of the Islamic belief emphasis on purity and cleanliness. The idea of purity connects to the ideology of women’s virtue during the 19th century which in turn created a notion that men and women are inherently different. In my second phase of research, my burning questions include what issues were being solved by the emergence of gender-separated bathrooms, what issues came after, and what other solutions have been proposed? Kogan’s “Sex-Separation in Public Restrooms: Law, Architecture, and Gender” explores the history, architecture roles and the current issues of gender-separated bathrooms. Kogan states that the current world views that have been socially constructed to make gender-separated restrooms feel natural, even though it does not offer the most inclusivity and equality. By exploring potential designs for gender-neutral bathrooms, such as the “Stalled!” airport inclusive restroom prototype by Joel Sanders Architect, it would help us envision the practicality of future options. All in all, from this research we learned that sometimes in trying to solve one issue, legislation laws that mandate gender-separated bathrooms unconsciously create other issues. By understanding the past and present issues around public bathrooms, we can hopefully make better judgment for the future.

Global Views: Cleanliness in Islamic Bathroom

The importance of purity and cleanliness found in the Islamic Quran has been long translated into bathroom designs. This research covers Islamic rules and their design responses outlining the aspects of privacy, orientation, ergonomics, and cleaning methods.

Behind the seemingly “natural” gender-separated bathrooms

The purpose of this essay is to help us better understand the aspects that contribute towards the emergence of gender-separated bathrooms since the nineteenth century, the role of architecture and the issues raised and over sought from having gender-separated bathrooms, all in hope to inform us in making better design decisions and approaches in the future.

Historical Timeline

This timeline takes us back in history to the earliest use of bathroom to today.

Bibliography

Rahmadhani, Novi, and M Irfan M P Hamid. “Islamic Bathroom: A Recommendation of Bathroom Layout Design with Islamic Values”. International Journal of Architecture and Urbanism Vol. 2, No. 3, 2018 pp. 241-252. Talenta Publisher.

Rahim, Asiah Abdul. “A Concept of Clean Toilet from the Islamic Perspective”. Journal of Islamic Built Environment Vol. 1, No.1. 2005 p 71-84. KAED IIUM.

Kogan, Terry S. “Sex-Separation in Public Restrooms: Law, Architecture, and Gender”. Michigan Journal of Gender & Law Vol. 14, No. 1, 2017 pp. 1-57. University of Michigan. https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjgl/vol14/iss1/1

Spula, Ian. “An Unexpected Ally of Gender-Neutral Restrooms: Building Codes”. Architect Magazine. 2017. https://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/an-unexpected-ally-in-gender-neutral-restrooms-building-codes_o